Genius Sensei
by AlexDnD
Summary: What if Kakashi had recovered from his deep depression? What if he turned out to be a true genius as a sensei? Watch as team 7 develops into a truly capable shinobi team!
1. Prologue

**AN: **This fan fiction divergence point is Kakashi's response to the loss of his comrades and sensei. What if he was able to put it behind him and focus on being the best shinobi he could be? In this story Kakashi has never tested genin teams unlike in cannon. His first genin team will be team seven. He takes the team on orders from the Hokage and resolves to make team seven the greatest team since the Sanin.

The story will start as minor AU and will shift dramatically. I don't intend on describing every character that is in the anime, everyone is hopefully aware of how they already look.

Updated: 10/30

**Prologue **

Kakashi walked along the paths of Konoha. Hokage-sama has made it clear this wasn't an optional choice. He was to lead team 7, he was to personally mentor Sasuke as well as ensure the nine tails did not break free from Naruto. While Kakashi was incensed at first in truth he had begun to look at it quite differently. Here was a chance to repay his sensei the Yondaime Hokage for all that he had done. He would train his child to be a splendid shinobi in honor of Minato.

Kakashi was one of the privileged few to learn who Naruto's parents were. He had not been told until a few weeks ago. He had been irritated at being left in the dark but he understood the Sandaime's motives.

The elite jōnin wondered if he would still have been chosen if he hadn't turned his life around. After the deaths of all of his precious people, his father, his teammates and his sensei he had begun to exhibit signs of mental stress. He started showing up extremely late, he began reading his erotica openly in the public and he had become detached from everyone and everything.

He had not made close bonds with others but on one of his hour long homages to the memorial stone something had snapped inside of him. Would all of them have wanted him to be on this path? No they wouldn't, they would want him to serve Konoha to the best of his abilities. He had resolved to begin acting like a proper shinobi. To that end he began to train himself and work missions at a regular clip. His time in ANBU was marked with a high level of efficiency. His mission success rate was second to none.

Kakashi was not considered to be at the level of the Sanin or the Hokage but he was considered close. No other jōnin in the village was at his level. Kakashi chuckled at the thought of Gai's angry denials of his 'eternal' rival being on a higher level than him. But simply put he was. And now he was a jōnin in charge of three cute little genin.

Kakashi had been hailed as a genius. Now he would bend his incredible abilities to being the best possible sensei he could be. There would be no wasted time. He would make them shinobi Minato would have been proud to fight with.

'This should be interesting…'


	2. Chapter 1: Let the Training Begin!

**AN: **The bell test occurred as normal – no need to rehash something if I'm not making major changes. Please review!

'thinking'

"speaking"

**Chapter 1: **Let the Training Begin

Kakashi's first impressions of his new team were not complimentary. Everything from attitude to abilities was a disappointment. Despite that they did eventually muster up enough teamwork for him to pass them.

'What did I get myself into here? Kami I better get started or they'll be annihilated on their first real mission.'

Kakashi gave his new team an eye smile. They were all pleased that they had passed the test. But it was no time to celebrate, their training was to begin.

"Congratulations you are all shinobi ready to take missions on behalf of the village."

He allowed them to bask in their satisfaction for a bit and then continued.

"Starting tomorrow you will be given a "D" ranked mission. It might mean walking dogs, weeding, or maybe even…"

Naruto interrupted with a jump and a yell, "WHAT? Give us a real mission!"

Kakashi blazed forward with a speed that none of his team could even follow. His fist collided with Naruto's stomach and doubled him over. Kakashi had pulled the punch; he didn't want to kill the kid after all. Naruto gasped for air as he collapsed on the ground.

"You do not make demands of me genin. We are shinobi. I give orders, you follow them. When you are ready to take on more strenuous missions I will give them to you. But first you have to prove that ALL of you are capable of handling it."

Sasuke grimaced. He couldn't do real missions until the dead last and the stupid fan girl got up to the right level? This would hold him back. This would interfere with his development. When he first learned his sensei was Kakashi he had been pleased. Kakashi was one of the elites of the village. He held the record for most "A" ranked missions completed and he was still in his prime! Other than the Sanin or the Hokage himself no one could match him. It was only fitting that he, an Uchiha would have such a competent instructor. And now he was going to be held back before of his team. Sasuke was furious.

Kakashi saw the anger in Sasuke's eyes.

"Problem Uchiha?"

Sasuke glared, "I will follow your orders sensei," he glanced at Naruto who was still on the ground groaning before continuing, "but this is foolish. I need to get stronger and these two are going to hold me back."

Sakura shouted, "Yeah we are just going to hold Sasuke-kun back…" she trailed off when she realized she was included in Sasuke's frustration.

Kakashi chuckled.

"Well then you know what you have to do then."

Sasuke looked confused.

"You'll have to help train them up to your level, and then we can go on advanced missions."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "I could get further on my own! Why should I waste time training the dead last!"

Kakashi moved and Sasuke was now the one on the ground.

"Because you little baka this is a team. A team is only as strong as its weakest link. Success or failure on missions will be determined by how well a team works together. On the road while you sleep someone on your team will be watching over you just as you will watch over them as they sleep. Do you want to be protected by a weakling? By someone incompetent?"

Sakura saw her beloved Sasuke-kun on the ground and shrieked at her sensei. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you hurt my Sasuke-kun?"

Kakashi sighed and didn't even bother hitting Sakura. He just unleashed a healthy dose of his killer intent and she was soon curled in a ball on the ground. He paced back and forth while he waited for his team to recover.

'Hmm this team needs a lot of work and they need to get their heads on straight. Strict obedience is going to be required but it wouldn't hurt to throw in a carrot or two.'

Kakashi made a mental list of what needed to be done first for each of his students.

'Naruto is a mess. He has stamina and drive but is too impulsive. His taijutsu forms are abominable and he has no chakra control. On the other hand he has mastered the Kage Bunshin. He can be brought up to speed fairly quickly if it was used as a training technique.'

'With Sasuke I need to drill in teamwork and to care for his comrades. He's too arrogant to work with them right now. I'll have to hold out additional training as a reward for working with his team. He is a genius; he will pick up things quickly. His conditioning is good but it's not where it needs to be in order to be the best.'

Kakashi thought about his 'eternal rival's' training techniques and decided to incorporate them.

'And finally Sakura.'

Kakashi inwardly sighed. She was toxic to their team dynamic.

'I'll need to use her crush for the Uchiha boy as a means of motivating her. It feels wrong but a shinobi uses what he has available. Right now she is hopeless however the academy reports were glowing about her chakra control. Genjutsu training would be just the thing, both Naruto and Sasuke will be power houses in direct combat, a more subtle flair will help round the team out.'

As his three students finally recovered they eyed their sensei nervously.

"I have just passed you and you have already made me regret my decision. Let me make this clear. We are a team and I am your leader. You will follow my instructions, you will not mouth off, and you will respect me. More over you will respect your team. You are no longer in the Academy you are shinobi. You are part of the military arm of taijutsu and I expect you to compose yourself as such. Is that clear?"

All three genin hastily responded with "Hai sensei."

Kakashi nodded firmly.

"Tomorrow we will begin rank "D" missions however the rest of today will be training. Kakashi brought his hands together and performed the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu creating one clone.

The clone said, "Sakura, Sasuke over here, we will work on taijutsu."

The original Kakashi turned to Naruto, "Your scores at the academy were abysmal in everything so we need to do remedial work."

Naruto flushed and almost said something but his gut was still sore from the vicious punch.

'Good he's learning to keep his mouth shut.'

Kakashi touched Naruto's shoulder, "But don't worry I am your sensei so before you know it you will surpass all the other genin in Konoha."

Naruto shouted out in joy, "Yeah and then I'll be the Hokage, BELIEVE IT!"

Kakashi let out a groan. "Not so loud Naruto, you are shinobi."

Naruto was literally hopping up and down ready for his training.

"First make 10 clones using Kage Bunshin," Kakashi ordered.

Naruto concentrated and shouted, "Kage Bunshin" and 20 clones appeared.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Uh oops."

Kakashi shook his head, "Your chakra control is awful but for now this works just as well."

Kakashi pulled out four books from a storage seal. He handed one book to the clone and told him to read a paragraph. The clone started to read, "The village hidden in the leaves was founded in…"

Kakashi shook his head.

"Stop… read it to yourself."

The clone obeyed and after a minute Kakashi asked the real Naruto, "Do you know when the village was founded?"

Naruto flushed, "Um no I guessed I missed that part of the lecture in the academy but who needs to know about all that boring stuff anyway?"

Kakashi twitched. Did the academy teach him nothing at all?

"Naruto, to shinobi information is life. Knowledge is more powerful than any jutsu, I have seen comrades die due to a lack of information and I have killed to suppress information."

Naruto looked ready to argue but Kakashi let out a small burst of killing intent quickly shutting the boy up.

"I expect you to learn Naruto; you will be the team's knowledge base and tactician. You will memorize the bingo book and know everything there is to know about the five major hidden villages."

Naruto's jaw dropped open, "T-that's impossible. I c-can't do it. Let Sakura-chan do it, she's super smart!"

The famous copy cat ninja smiled underneath his mask, "Naruto while she may be more intelligent then you, you have something that she cannot replicate."

"Like what?"

Kakashi demonstrated by kicking the clone who had read the passage on the founding date. Naruto blinked, the clone's memory of reading came back and he knew the date. Naruto looked dumbstruck for a moment and then the light bulb went on.

"Wait anything my clones read I will know?"

Kakashi nodded, his pupil wasn't so foolish after all.

"Yatta! That means I never have to read anything again!"

Kakashi's eye twitched.

'Must not murder my genin. Must not murder my genin. Must not murder my genin,' Kakashi silently repeated in his head over and over again.

"More importantly Naruto, your chakra reserves allow you to read books faster than the quickest most intelligent shinobi. You will be a font of information to your team, you will be able to quickly identify threats and relay information to your team about what to on watch for. This will be one of the key roles on the team, can you handle it?"

Naruto shouted his response, "You bet I can! Believe it!"

Kakashi feared he would develop a facial tic, why couldn't the boy act like a shinobi? Suppressing a sigh he handed out the rest of the books to the clones.

One was a book on the history of the Leaf village. The 2nd book was actually a bingo book that the real Naruto was oohing over before Kakashi ripped it out of his hands and gave it to a clone. The third book was a book chakra control and finally the last book was a field manual on how to care for shinobi implements like kunai, ninja wire, kunai, scrolls and supplies.

After Kakashi handed out the books he had the clones start to read them while he turned to the real Naruto.

"All right Naruto up first is perfecting your chakra control."

Naruto grumbled, "When am I going to learn a cool jutsu?"

Kakashi had the urge to punch the blond haired brat again but he had learned how to control his emotions back when he joined ANBU.

"Naruto you cannot learn powerful jutsu without control. Once you have completed the tree walking exercise I will teach you a jutsu."

Naruto jumped, "Well then let's get started, I'm going to be the best tree walker ever!"

Naruto paused for a second and looked up at his sensei, "What do you mean tree walking?"

The older shinobi put his hands up, "First things first, the basic chakra control exercise, the leaf concentration exercise."

Naruto gave a heavy sigh, "That stupid exercise Iruka-Sensei tried to teach us in the academy? I'm a ninja not a little kid!"

Kakashi struck instantly, this time a brutal snap kick to his face. Naruto crashed into a tree.

"You are a shinobi Naruto that means obeying your military commander, me your jōnin instructor. Act like a shinobi or you will learn no jutsu from me."

Naruto growled and stared up angrily with his blue eyes focused on the one exposed eye Kakashi had.

"Yes Kakashi-Sensei, I'll act like a shinobi."

Kakashi helped the boy up.

"All right then Naruto its time to do the leaf exercise, let me show you."

He took a leaf and placed it on his forehead. The leaf began to spin slowly in a circle.

"Now you try."

The young orphan took a leaf and placed it on his head and concentrated on it. The leaf did not move.

"Imagine your head has energy. Slowly concentrate on that energy and imagine it slowly spinning like water down a drain," Kakashi's voice spoke slowly and almost hypnotically.

Naruto concentrated and then felt the leaf leave his forehead. Kakashi saw the leaf blown away with quite a bit of force.

Kakashi gave an eye smile and said, "Now that you've felt the energy you know what to do. Next time focus on control and imagine the energy moving slower."

Naruto picked up another leaf and Kakashi shook his head.

"Remember Naruto everything your clones learn – you learn. Have your clones all work on the leaf exercise."

Naruto's clones quickly got to work and leaves were flying all over the place. Kakashi beckoned Naruto to follow him away from the whirlwind of leaves.

"All right Naruto two final items to your training that we will go over today. The first is your taijutsu. It reminds me of a drunken civilian brawl. Its sloppy, wasteful and the opposite of how my team will operate. We will spend the next two hours correcting your forms."

Naruto stifled a groan, Kakashi-sensei hit hard and he did not want to get hit again.

While Kakashi had gone over the training with Naruto his clone was working with Sasuke and Sakura.

"All right while the real me works with Naruto I will work with you two. First I want to see a taijutsu spar; first one down on the ground loses. Don't break any bones we'll be doing several spars in a row."

Sasuke smirked at the fan girl, this would be easy. Sakura raised her hands and took a hesitant step back. She had to fight her Sasuke-kun?

The clone raised its hand and brought it down .

"Begin."

Sasuke immediately rushed forward and sent a hard punch streaking towards Sakura's face. Sakura dodged to the right and tried to grab the arm but Sasuke quickly followed the forward motion of his punch with his body flipping forward and around causing his heel to smash into the kunoichi's head.

Sakura collapsed on to the ground clutching her head. 'Pathetic,' Sasuke thought to himself.

Kakashi agreed with Sasuke's internal thoughts.

"All right Sasuke why did she lose?"

"Because she is weak."

Sakura felt a stab of hurt in her heart.

"No, describe for me the physical mistakes she made in the spar."

Sasuke quickly analyzed what had occurred.

"She was slow on her dodge, if she was quicker she might have been able to grab my arm and throw me. And then when I flipped around she should have seen the move and jumped back."

Kakashi nodded, "Good that was a sound analysis of the spar. Again."

Sasuke readied himself as Sakura got up on wobbly legs.

"Begin!"

Sasuke surged forward again this time striking towards the abdomen with a kick. Sakura managed to block the blow with her arm but winced from the contact. She was shoved back a foot and lost her balance, catching herself right as Sasuke fired a kick towards her head. She barely had time to duck. Sasuke spun and fired another kick. Sakura still off balance could do nothing else but block and again she stumbled backward.

Sasuke sneered in disgust. This was pathetic. Even the dobe could do better than her. Sakura got back her balance and watched Sasuke wait for her attack. She tried a palm strike to his head which he deflected with an upward rising block and struck out with the same hand that blocked, catching Sakura in the throat with stiffened fingers. Sakura collapsed onto the ground struggling to breathe.

Kakashi frowned, "If you injure her so she cannot continue the training stops until tomorrow."

Sasuke scowled, while he had learned nothing yet he knew Kakashi could teach him.

Kakashi again had Sasuke analyze the fight. Sasuke went over the fight pointing out Sakura's mistakes.

"When you unlock your sharingan you will see even deeper than what you are pointing out now. This is good practice and by watching every movement closely it's theorized that you could unlock it sooner."

Kakashi saw Sakura struggle to her feet, "Again."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows in surprise. So that was the point of this little exercise, preparing him for the sharingan. Sasuke smirked a bit; maybe his sensei did know what he was talking about. They sparred and analyzed another five bouts. At the end Sakura could barely stand. She was bruised, exhausted and dispirited. The Kakashi clone looked at her and shook his head.

"Haruno your stamina is pitiful. What is your typical workout routine?"

"Kakashi-sensei I only worked out at during academy."

The clone twitched.

"Do you have any desire at all to be a shinobi?"

Sakura's inner voice shouted, "HAI, I need to be a shinobi to be close to Sasuke!"

Sakura wisely did not repeat those words out loud.

"Hai I do sensei… I just… I… didn't know I needed to."

Kakashi glared at her, "Before we meet in the mornings you are to get up stretch and run three miles. Every day – after we are done with training here you will work on taijutsu forms for one hour."

"Hai."

"I can do nothing else physically with you right now so take this leaf and work on your chakra control."

The clone went over what he wanted her to do and was surprised when she could rotate it on her first try.

"Add another leaf and rotate one clockwise and the other counter clockwise, keep working at it until it becomes difficult for you to move the leaves, at that point your chakra will be depleted and you will need to stop. Do not continue working this exercise once it becomes difficult, if you suffer chakra exhaustion you'll be useless for days."

Sakura went over to a nearby tree and begin to spin leaves.

The clone turned to Sasuke, "Walk with me."

They walked a bit away and Sasuke wondered what his next training was going to be.

"Sasuke you are no doubt this year's most gifted Academy student."

Sasuke didn't change his facial expression but inwardly he smirked.

"And as you said before the team is just going to hold you back."

Sasuke nodded and responded in a way that he thought Kakashi would want him to respond.

"You are right sensei that was my thought but I see the wisdom in having strong allies when a mission incorporates multiple objectives in separate locations. As well as when they are at watch during their shift at night."

Kakashi clapped his hands.

"You said exactly what you thought I wanted to hear. But I am not an academy instructor, I am not a chūnin, I am an elite jōnin. I am honed in the arts of deception. I can detect lies and half truths through minute movements in your breathing, your pulse and your speech mannerisms. And all of that tells me is that you are a liar."

A massive wave of killing intent forced Sasuke to back up before he tripped over his own feet.

"Right now I don't care if you feel they are holding you back or not, it is important for you to help them become stronger. I will not hurt you for having rational discussion on the subject but I will not put up with a false front. Tell me how you really feel."

Sasuke relaxed as the killing intent left. And then he grew angry. What right did this man have to lecture him! He was the last Uchiha and he had to avenge his clan!

"Fine sensei I'll tell you I feel. I'm stuck with dead last and a pathetic fan girl. She doesn't even do a minimal amount of conditioning! I am strong and they are weak and I must sacrifice my time and energy fixing their incompetence. The strong should not have to teach the weak!"

The Kakashi clone chuckled.

"If I follow your logic correctly then because you are stronger than they are you shouldn't have to teach them."

Sasuke nodded.

"So since I am stronger then you I shouldn't teach you then?"

Sasuke froze and then said, "That's different."

Kakashi shook his head, "No it is not. This is Konoha, here the strong help and support our weaker members. Our Hokage allows civilians to make decisions in this village even though they have no power. We are strong so we can protect others."

Kakashi could see he hadn't gotten through to the boy but hopefully this discussion would make him think.

"Your beliefs are your own Sasuke but if you want to learn the jutsu I have then you will help me bring them up to par."

Sasuke nodded, he had no choice he had to get more powerful, "Hai Kakashi-Sensei.

"Good now let's talk about your own conditioning."

Sasuke frowned, "I run plenty, I practice my taijutsu daily for hours and I even practice ninjutsu."

Kakashi stopped by the tree where he had placed the weights. Sasuke was a little unnerved that their conversation finished at the exact spot where the clone pulled out a package from behind the tree. That kind of planning was impressive.

"These are leg weights and a weighted vest. The vest weighs 20 pounds and each leg weight weighs 5 pounds. This is just a start but this will make your workouts more strenuous and will improve your speed when they are removed. I will caution you to be precise while you work with them. Fractures are more likely to occur when wearing additional weights."

Sasuke gave his trade mark smirk, "And I guess Sakura might last a bit longer if I'm slowed down by this."

Kakashi moved on to the next subject, "For the rest of today I want you to work on chakra control."

Sasuke frowned when he was not able to twirl the leaves in opposite directions on his first try.

Kakashi grinned under his mask, "Found something Sakura can do better then you?"

Sasuke scowled and redoubled his efforts.

"Meet in front of the Hokage tower at 8:00 AM. We'll do our first mission as a team and then it's back to training."

Sakura thought about the sparring matches. She had gotten destroyed by Sasuke and that was with him holding back. Sakura shivered, was she really that weak? She had seen the contempt that Sasuke had for her taijutsu. Sakura felt tears coming in but forced them back. She would not cry. She was a shinobi. She would do the conditioning and get stronger. For her team, for her Sasuke-kun… and for herself.

Naruto finished the taijutsu forms training. His stance and form had improved considerably but he had yet to even spar with it. Kakashi froze for a split second while his clone popped finished with Sakura and Sasuke. '

These genin are so frustrating! I'm going to have to report to hokage that the academy is failing this generation utterly.'

"All right Naruto dispel your clones."

Naruto complied and froze for two seconds as the collected memories and knowledge filled him. Kakashi lightly did a leg sweep knocking Naruto on the ground.

"In a battle you would have been more than dead, anything more than a fraction of a second is too long. Don't dwell on the clone's memories – you have the knowledge."

Naruto picked himself up, "Hai Sensei."

The former ANBU caption then had Naruto try to the leaf exercise again. This time the leaf stayed on his head and started to twirl around.

Naruto shouted with glee, "Yatta! I did it! Now I can learn some truly awesome Jutsu!"

"What did I tell you earlier Naruto?"

Naruto thought frantically for several seconds, "Oh I need to do the tree walking thing before I learn jutsu."

"Correct. We will begin that tomorrow after our first "D" rank mission. In the mean time I have something for you."

Kakashi pulled out a set of weights.

"These are 10 pound leg weights and a 40 pound vest. Wear these at all times, when you can move smoothly without them then we will increase their weights."

Naruto tried them on and struggled to move with them.

"Also you'll likely hurt yourself if you move around in your normal rambunctious way so don't go crazy with them."

Kakashi looked at the boy's height and began to question him on his meals. Kakashi's eye twitched at the amount of ramen he ate to the exclusion of almost everything else.

'No wonder the boy's growth has been stunted.'

Kakashi proceeded to lecture Naruto on the proper food he should eat. Naruto complained about how he hated vegetables. Kakashi eyed the boy, while his statement was true he could sense more than that going on.

'Ah the villagers must not be selling the boy food.'

"Naruto you are a shinobi. I will go shopping with you today for food."

Naruto flushed, "Sensei I don't have money right now I spent it all on the gear I needed for today's test."

Kakashi eye flashed with rage for an instant, those kunai were new? They were rusted and damaged. Who the hell had been sabotaging a shinobi of the leaf?

"Where did you buy your kunai from Naruto?"

"Um the weapon sales man near the training ground."

Kakashi knew the place, not the best but typically they sold appropriate gear.

"All right Naruto I'll pay for groceries this time but we will be getting you proper food. Without proper food you cannot be a proper shinobi."

Naruto was gloomy, he did not want to eat vegetables and he did not want to be chased out of a store in front of his new sensei.

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei but its fine I'll manage."

"I wasn't making a request."

Naruto gulped and nodded. His sensei was scary, and had no qualms about beating his students when they refused orders. Kakashi sensing a learning opportunity walked Naruto back into the village proper.

"Naruto I trust you are familiar with the Henge no Jutsu?"

"Hai Kakashi-sensei."

"Use it to turn into Sasuke."

Naruto was in fact not stupid. He was emotionally, physically and mentally stunted from the abuse the village had given him. However beyond the handicaps his environment had provided him he was the son of Minato, widely considered the most powerful shinobi the leaf had ever produced. Naruto showed his lineage by slamming his palm into his forehead.

"I am so _stupid," _Naruto shouted.

"I could have used a Henge this entire time to go anywhere I wanted, I could have used it to get away from the mobs I could have…"

Tears began to leak from his piercing blue eyes. Kakashi felt a surge of rage, how could this village be so monstrous to one of their own? Kakashi vowed not to fail Naruto the way the village has.

Kakashi stopped walking and Naruto turned toward his sensei desperately trying to wipe his tears away.

"Naruto, I am your sensei it is my responsibility and privilege to teach you. I will not condemn you for your past failures; all I expect you to do is learn from them. You have the potential to be Hokage, never doubt that. "

Naruto shivered, so few people had ever helped him. Iruka-Sensei, Teuchi, Ayame and jiji had been the only ones. And here was another. Naruto felt adrenaline surge though his body. He had hope for the future, true hope not just blind defiance in the face of utter despair.

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei. I won't let you down." Naruto's voice was filled with conviction.

"Good – now let's get you some food."


	3. Chapter 2: Decisions

Chapter 2: Decisions

Naruto thought back on his day as he munched on the fresh produce. He didn't really like the taste of celery and broccoli but if helped him become the Hokage then he could withstand it. His sensei was teaching him how to be a real shinobi and he was on Sakura-Chan's team! He hated the fact he had to put up with Sasuke but it was a small price to pay for all of the other pluses.

The knowledge he gained from his clone's reading was amazing. Who knew that books could be so interesting when you didn't have to read them? And the Bingo book was the absolute best. Those were missing-nins who he might be hunting down very soon. Kakashi would have rolled his eyes at the eagerness to fight dangerous criminals but Naruto's confidence had only grown after his conversation about using a Henge to buy food and supplies at normal prices.

Naruto was even in bed reading the bingo book instead of having a clone do it. Naruto poured over the pages of shinobi from C to S ranked. Naruto being Naruto spent a lot of time reading about S ranked ninja. He learned about the Leaf's greatest traitor Orochimaru. Naruto was fascinated by Orochimaru's ability to summon a giant snake – he wondered if there were other animals a ninja could summon. He tried to think back to Iruka-Sensei's classes but it was all pretty hazy.

Naruto stayed up far too late reading the book but eventually he fell asleep. He was asleep and fully content with his lot in life because his dream had never been closer.

Kakashi met with the Sandaime Hokage. Kakashi was agitated but respectful of his leader. "Hokage-Sama my three genin have been crippled by the academy. Do all genin come out like this or am I just lucky?"

Sarutobi puffed at his pipe, "Hmm could you be more specific?" Kakashi paced in front of the leader of the leaf's desk. "Where to begin? Let's start with Naruto. His taijutsu is awful. His chakra control is nonexistent. He doesn't act or think like a ninja. I've had to physically attack him just to get his attention."

The third sighed, "Kakashi he's had a hard life and…" Kakashi held up a hand respectfully, "Hokage-Sama that kind of attitude will get him killed. He is shinobi! He is not a child. I do not tell you this in order to attack Naruto or to request him off my team. I tell you this so you can fix the Academy."

Sarutobi gave Kakashi's words consideration and Kakashi continued. "Naruto isn't the only problem. The next problem's name is Sakura. They we were making introductions and she couldn't complete a full sentence to her jonin-sensei without blushing and giggling about Sasuke. Again what are they teaching in the Academy?"

Sarutobi exhaled more smoke, "Her parents are civilians, and she may not know the protocol of how to act as a genin." Kakashi was bewildered. How could the Hokage be defending this? "The Academy is for learning, why wasn't she taught how to maintain her composure? She is acting like a giggling school girl as opposed to a trained weapon!"

"Now you sound like Danzo-San. They may be weapons but that is not all that they are," exclaimed Sarutobi.

Kakashi twitched. "If you coddle shinobi you end up with dead shinobi! I didn't stay long in the Academy when I was a child but from what I saw they had standards! I read over the test scores and practical exams – they only learn three jutsu!"

The third hokage sighed deeply. "Kakashi you are often on missions away from the village. I applaud your sense of duty but there is a reason the Academy standards were softened." The elder shinobi stood up on his weary legs and walked over to a window facing away from Kakashi. "The civilian council wanted more of their children to pass the exam. They wanted their children to be shinobi too but with the standards as they were only the clan children were passing."

Kakashi muttered, "That's probably because their parents actually taught them how to be a ninja before sending them to the Academy!"

"Hmm quite possible however our shinobi ranks have grown because we have allowed civilians an opportunity to pass. And while other hidden villages may have more capable genin they throw their lives away. We nurture and protect our shinobi, only our most promising jonin can lead genin teams and through the shelter of the mighty trees around them they grow to be splendid shinobi."

Kakashi understood where "the professor" was coming from. He had obviously given it a lot of thought. While other villages produced superior starting genin, through the personalized attention of an elite jonin the village hidden in the leaves produced a finer end product. In theory. But all that time was wasted in the academy was a sore point to Kakashi.

"And there was one final reason I accepted the lowering of the academy standards. Our finest shinobi are child prodigies like you. Many of whom have physiological… concerns. Before you snapped out of your depression you were starting to read erotic literature in public and showing up hours late to missions! Tell me Kakashi is that proper shinobi behavior? What of my own students? One is an alcoholic gambler and another turned traitor to this village. No Kakashi this is the better way. Turning child prodigies into missing-nin has caused more destruction then any lax standards.

Kakashi knew the argument was over. He disagreed but he was a keen enough judge of character to know that the Hokage would not be swayed. "I have my work cut out for me then Hokage-Sama. They said their farewells and Kakashi went home to plan how he was going to fix his three shinobi.

The next morning the three genin made it to the hokage tower on time. Naruto had followed his sensei's instructions and had a dozen clones working on chakra control while another four finished reading the books provided. He was a little tired from his late night but his energy levels were such that he was still bouncing with excitement.

Sakura was winded, she didn't even squeal about seeing her Sasuke-kun. Yesterday had exhausted her and she was still breathing heavily from her run that morning. Sasuke was adjusting to the new weights well and was actually looking forward to training. They just had to get done with whatever stupid useless chore mission they had so they could start.

Kakashi had their mission ready… locate and find a missing cat. The mission was harder than any of them expected but it was finally done around noon. Kakashi was ready for their next lesson on chakra control.

"I promised to teach jutsu after you completed the tree walking exercise. Here is what success looks like." Kakashi promptly walked up to the top of a tree at a slow pace. "The key is to form chakra at your feet to stick to the surface. Too little chakra and you fall off, too much chakra and the bark will explode beneath you, I suggest getting a running start. Mark your progress with a kunai."

All three of them eagerly began their task. Sakura didn't want her Sasuke-kun to look down on her like he had yesterday. Naruto of course wanted jutsu. Sasuke also wanted jutsu. He needed power and Kakashi could give it to him. It was a shock to all of the genin when bark exploded underneath the soles of Naruto and Sasuke's feet but not Sakura's. Sakura actually made it all the way up the tree!

Sasuke glared at Sakura; how the hell had she mastered this technique first? Sakura was pleased with herself until she saw Sasuke's face. She bit her lip alarmed that she had ruined her chances with Sasuke-kun. Kakashi glared dangerously at the black haired boy. "Are you angry Sasuke?" Sasuke turned warily toward his sensei and responded with a curt, "No Kakashi-Sensei."

"Liar," Kakashi snarled as his form blurred. His kick smashed the Uchiha heir in the side of his head. Sasuke flew 10 feet horizontally before plummeting to the ground.

'Damn it I couldn't even follow his movements let alone defend against it.'

Both Sakura and Naruto went still, Kakashi was radiating anger.

"Do not lie to your sensei," snarled Kakashi. "You're pathetic. I told you that you couldn't do more difficult missions until your comrade's abilities met my standards. When one of your team demonstrates a superior ability instead of being pleased you let your petty jealousy get in the way. No ninja, not even the Yondaime is the best in every shinobi skill."

Sasuke groaned and struggled to his feet.

Kakashi rushed forward and Sasuke flinched when Kakashi stopped inches from his face. "Which is it Sasuke. Are you happy that your comrade's ability will mean you can do real missions or are you still angry that she has better chakra control then you do?" Sasuke breathed heavily, this hadn't happened to him since the massacre. No one talked to him like this; no one challenged him in this way.

Sasuke knew a falsehood would just bring on more pain. "BOTH," he shouted at Kakashi. "I want to do stronger missions but I should be the best! I am an Uchiha, how can I be behind her? How can I ever get as strong as I need to be if I'm not the best? I have to be the best, I have to get stronger, I need power if I'm ever going…" words failed him as he realized he had an audience.

Kakashi backhanded him and Sasuke fell to the ground. "Yelling at your jonin-sensei in other villages would get you a lashing. You're lucky I'm so nice," he glared down at the young battered Uchiha. "I told all of you before that you are a team. Celebrate your teammate's successes, don't be jealous. Your teammate can show you how they did it, they can help you get stronger faster than if you were on your own."

Naruto couldn't suppress a grin at what had just occurred. Kakashi had just put the oh so great Sasuke in his place. In front of Sakura too! Naruto had always been the one being lectured and now it was the rookie of the year's turn! Kakashi's eye twitched. He felt a spike of loathing flash through his body for his team. Perhaps he didn't have the right temperament to teach; perhaps he had given Iruka and the other academy instructors not enough credit. This was the 2nd day and he already wanted to kill his genin.

Kakashi whirled on Naruto and slammed him against the tree, his forearm on the boy's throat. "I read the reports, Naruto. Or should I just call you 'dead last?' Mocked by other students, mocked by even the instructors. I know you hated it, didn't you?" Naruto struggled to breathe but croaked out an embarrassed, "yes."

"And yet here you are taking delight in someone else's failing. I regret passing the lot of you." Kakashi released his grip on the boy and Naruto collapsed down. Naruto felt horrible. He disliked the teme but his sensei was right. Given the slightest chance he had acted just like the other kids had when he got a question wrong. Filled with shame he made his way to his feet and walked over to Sasuke who was still on the ground with a shocked expression.

"Sasuke-San, I'm sorry I shouldn't have been happy that Kakashi-Sensei attacked you. Sasuke looked at the blonde haired boy in front of him. He couldn't stand the boy's antics and he couldn't stand the thought of being helped up by him. But Kakashi was watching. The one eyed bastard was always watching. And damned it all he was right too. He should be happy that his team had more potential. He grabbed Naruto's hand and let himself be helped up.

Kakashi smiled underneath his mask. He suspected Sasuke had only accepted the hand up because he was watching but all the same he had accepted the help. "All right now can any of you tell me why Sakura's control is the best?" Sasuke answered, "Has she trained already with this? That would explain her ability." Kakashi shook his head, "A reasonable guess but no, this was her first time."

Naruto furrowed his forehead and then shouted, "I know this!" Kakashi gestures for him to speak. "It's because she has less chakra then we do, so she's able to control the right amount easier!"

"Exactly Naruto, you and Sasuke's chakra coils are much more developed. That means it will be harder for you two to gain fine control of your chakra."

Sakura frowned, just when she thought she had done something great she learned that it was just because she was weak.

Kakashi looked up at Sakura who was still up in the tree. "Sakura, even with your lower chakra reserves your control is superb. You have a bright future ahead of you as a Genjutsu specialist, a medical-nin or even an assassin."

Naruto looked puzzled, "Assassin?"

"Hai, because of her fine control she can hide her chakra signature easier, what's more her jutsu will be highly chakra efficient meaning her kill strikes will be precise and hard to detect. Having lower chakra reserves does limit some of the larger jutsus but chakra can be increased. While the analogy isn't perfect, chakra works like a muscle. Train with it every day and it will grow in size." It really was an overly simplified explanation but Kakashi wasn't about to do an Academy lecture.

Sakura smiled, she had potential! She wasn't going to hold back Sasuke-kun!

"Since you do have chakra control, I want you to work on growing your chakra pool. Climb up and down the tree until it becomes strenuous to keep the connection. Then come down and we'll work on taijutsu." Naruto and Sasuke continued to race at the trees. Slowly but surely they were making progress. Naruto grit his teeth as Sasuke started pulling ahead in their race.

Kakashi did more than just watch. He carefully guided them in chakra control. He gave each boy hints and tips where they could improve.

"Naruto on the 5th step you start pushing out too much chakra, concentrate!"

"Sasuke, your left foot seems to be the one giving you problems, don't overcompensate."

Neither boy made it to the top before Sakura started feeling the effects of chakra drain. She walked back down and breathed out heavily, "Its getting difficult for me to hold the connection Kakashi-Sensei." Kakashi performed the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.

"All right Naruto follow my clone we'll do some more training while I have these two spar."

Kakashi's clone took Naruto about half a mile away from the rest. "All right Naruto, its time you used your training technique to master the tree walking exercise. Form 20 clones." Naruto concentrated and 23 clones popped out. Kakashi whistled, "Much better Naruto – I can't believe one day of chakra control practice has made such a difference! Even with your clones helping that is impressive."

Naruto beamed at the praise.

"Have half of them work on the tree walking exercise and the other half on the leaf exercise." Naruto questioned Kakashi, "Why not have all of them do the tree exercise."

"Because you haven't mastered the leaf exercise yet – you still have improvement to be made. When we get to elemental manipulation you'll want to understand your body's chakra inside and out. You're wasting daylight get started!"

The real Kakashi was watching a repeat of the other day. Sasuke dominated the spars even with the light weights on. Sakura was clearly exhausted and was even slower then yesterday. The elite jonin was not surprised, she had worked hard yesterday and until she caught up with her conditioning she wouldn't be able to provide a good match for Sasuke. The raven haired boy once again picked apart each spar with impressive detail. Kakashi had his doubts at first but the academy was correct in their genius assessment.

'Sadly being a genius didn't always translate into making wise decisions,' Kakashi thought to himself.

After the spars were done Kakashi told Sasuke to continue working while he took Sakura for some additional training. Two days ago Sasuke would have made a comment about how he deserved one on one training, now he just went "Hnn" and continued to work on the tree walking exercise.

Sakura wondered why her one eyed sensei wanted to give her additional training. Right now her chakra was spent and she was exhausted. She couldn't think of any type of training that she could actually accomplish right now.

"Your chakra control is excellent Sakura, tomorrow we'll work on water walking. But I want you to spend some time thinking about what expertise you want to have." Sakura considered her options. Assassination didn't sound like something she wanted to do. Genjutsu was considered a rare talent and it could impress Sasuke-kun. Being a medical-nin also sounded very interesting because she did like to help people.

Her sensei saw Sakura think it over, "Don't make a decision now Sakura. What I'd like you to do is check out basic medical-nin text books from the shinobi library. Those books can help you learn how to kill as an assassin by striking certain parts of the body and it can teach you the basic fundamentals of healing. The books won't teach you how to mold chakra to heal someone but will give you the basic foundation of first aid and how the body operates. After you get a good handle on it I will teach you a Genjutsu. Once you have all of the information I will allow you to make the decision on what you want to concentrate on.

Sakura bit her lip, "Sensei, this is a big decision wouldn't you know best?" Kakashi smiled underneath his mask, "A shinobi makes decisions every day. You will need to learn to be confident in the decision you make. You hold life and death in your hands when you go on a mission. If you can't decide what to specialize in how can you make decisions on the field?" Kakashi stooped a bit lower and lowered his face to hers, "This is your choice Sakura." Sakura nodded her head.

At dusk neither boy had mastered the tree walking exercise much to their frustration. Both of them were hungry to learn a jutsu or three. After Kakashi called it a day both continued to train. Kakashi laughed. 'They are going to regret this tomorrow!'

**AN: **Sasuke is acting a bit different from cannon because Kakashi is even more famous. Sasuke wants to be Kakashi's student because he is the best of the best. Kakashi also has quickly shaken Sasuke out of his arrogance by challenging him in a way no one did in the Academy. Hopefully the change seems realistic – let me know what you think!

Also any votes on what Sakura's specialty will be in?


	4. Chapter 3: Getting Stronger

**AN: **A bit of Anime trope bashing in this chapter.

**Chapter 3: Getting Stronger**

The next day dawned and every member of team 7 aside from Kakashi were quite sore. The weights weren't massively heavy but they were making their presence felt. And for Sakura who had never exercised this much in her life it was pure agony. But through the pain she clenched her teeth and completed her morning exercise.

The D ranked mission of the day was pulling up weeds and cleaning up around a field. The mission actually finished quite quickly when Kakashi had Naruto use his Kage Bunshin technique. They were done in less than 2 hours which made everyone happy. Naruto felt like he had contributed the most with his technique, Sakura was just glad she didn't have to pull anymore weeds with her sore muscles and Sasuke was eager for more training.

As the team finished the mission Kakashi took them back out to their normal training spot. Kakashi told them that today they would learn about how to handle themselves as shinobi in a fight. Naruto and Sasuke were to sit and practice rotating leaves on their forehead while Sakura paced up and down a tree as they listened.

"I'm going to share with you some of the lessons I've learned both as a shinobi and as an ANBU Captain. Pay attention because these lessons are lessons that many shinobi refuse to learn." Kakashi looked at their expectant face. "The first and most important lesson is only two words. Ego. Kills." All three looked puzzled.

"Shinobi can bend the elements. Some can travel further and faster than any bird. Some can break rocks with their bare hands. This leads to pride, hubris, arrogance and ego. Wielding this power we feel invincible and that is when we take stupid risks. That is when we die. The most danger you will ever be in, is the moment you think you've won the battle. Never assume your opponent is defeated until they are dead."

Kakashi paced back and forth. This was a passion of his. He couldn't stand the idiocy of other ninja. Why would you brag about your abilities? Why would you give information to your enemies? "Along that same line of thought _never _and I mean _never_ explain to your opponent how your abilities work or how you were able to defeat their jutsu. Pride causes shinobi to brag about how their bloodline, special training or weapon makes them invincible. Such stupidity has led to strong shinobi actually losing to weaker and less powerful opponents.

The three sat in stunned silence. All of them could see the appeal of showing how they defeated their enemy but when they really took a moment to think about it they realized it was pretty idiotic. Kakashi let the words sink in and then continued with his lesson.

"On a mission when it is time to kill. Kill. Do not 'toy' with your enemy. Do not mock them. Do not 'test their abilities.' Do none of those things. Kill them as quickly and as effectively as possible." Sakura swallowed heavily. There it was, talk about killing again. Naruto and Sasuke were not as affected by it. Naruto had been ready to kill Mizuki for trying to murder Iruka-Sensei and Sasuke had made it his life's mission to kill someone.

"It may not always be appropriate to use your most powerful jutsu, especially since the more powerful the jutsu the more it may drain your chakra. If there is a significant probability of additional opponents you may want to save your chakra. Maybe. All is contextual but I'd rather you err on the side of overkill."

"And for the love of Kami don't sit there and admire your jutsu. If your opponent is injured by your attack, follow up immediately! Before your attack even lands, start preparing for your next strike. Constant motion is require. Attack swiftly, relentlessly and without mercy!" Kakashi stopped and met each of his student's eyes. "Constant motion will keep you alive and your enemy unbalanced."

Kakashi went on for some time explaining common sense rules that most shinobi seemed incapable of following. But it boiled down to some very simple truths. Hide your strength. Kill swiftly. Never assume you have won. Kakashi repeated the lesson until he felt that all of them had learned them. He caught Sasuke's eye when he spoke of arrogance. Naruto's eye when he talked about boasting. And every time he mentioned the word kill he practically glared in Sakura's direction.

"Disobey my rules and I'll make you do D rank missions until your 50. Got it?"

"HAI SENSEI," his Genin squad shouted at once. Kakashi allowed a small thrill of pride to percolate across his body. It had only been a couple of days but his cute little genin were turning into obedient shinobi.

'All right rant over, time to see their progress on the tree walking exercise.'

"All right you two up the trees," Kakashi ordered.

Naruto and Sasuke both raced up the tree, their skill had improved greatly. They were actually able to run up the tree, a combination of momentum, athleticism and chakra control allowed them to do it. Both boys felt triumphant, Naruto with a massive grin and Sasuke with a more subtle smirk. Kakashi almost regretted bursting their bubble.

"Impressive you've mastered tree _running_. Too bad you'll need to master tree _walking_ before you get jutsu."

Both genin sagged in disappointment. Another day and no jutsu. Kakashi gave them an eye smile, "I'm going to go work with Sakura on the next level of chakra control, try not to keep her waiting too long." Sakura glared at her sensei, was he trying to get her Sasuke-kun mad at her? Sasuke was many things but stupid was not one of them. Kakashi was baiting him deliberately and he would be damned if he walked into it.

Kakashi eyed the glaring kunoichi and said, "There is a pond 2 two miles from here, start running." Sakura whimpered as she picked up her leaden feet and started to jog. Kakashi fired a Kunai that scraped her calf, "I said run!" Sakura's panicked stricken face whirled toward her sensei as she saw him heft another kunai. As he lifted it to throw Sakura doubled her pace as Kakashi laughed.

Once they made it to the pond Kakashi had Sakura begin water walking. Once again he was impressed by her ability to pick it up so swiftly. Her chakra control was really something else. She had only fallen in twice and now was standing on it as easily as she stood on the earth.

"You need to improve on your stamina and your chakra reserves. That means you get to do your taijutsu forms for the next two hours on the water!" Sakura shivered, if she had known this is what it took to be a shinobi she would have never signed up! Sakura would not back down now though, she would prove that she could be a shinobi. She would prove that she was worthy of her Sasuke-Kun!

Kakashi left a clone there and went back to monitor the progress of the other two members of his team. He worked with them on their chakra control and by the end of the two hours they had made significant progress. Kakashi was impressed, after the first day he had thought this was going to take a painful amount of time for them to get up to the standards Kakashi would have set for the Academy. Both boys oozed potential, and with their fierce competitive nature they were giving it their all.

Sakura had been forced to run back to the camp by the Kakashi clone and she fell down panting. The man was a monster! Kakashi motioned for Naruto and Sasuke to stop and said, "Well done all of you. You should all be at the level of chakra control needed to start learning jutsu." That made all of them happy.

"In preparation for that I need to determine your elemental affinities." While they had been briefed in the academy there were things they did not know. Kakashi explained how most shinobi had an affinity with a specific element. It made learning jutsu from that element much easier. Naruto had then asked, "Can you have more than one affinity?" Kakashi shook his head, "Not without a kekkei genkai, however that does not mean you can't learn jutsu's from another element. It is difficult. Each element requires molding chakra in a specific way."

"Learning jutsu that you have an affinity for is like studying a complex problem written in the language you know. Learning a jutsu that you do not have an affinity for is like studying a complex problem written in a foreign language. You can learn a second language but you typically will always think in your native tongue. Difficulties in learning multiple jutsu elements increases on an exponential level."

Sakura understood this concept, "So learning a 2nd element is twice as hard but learning a third element might be four times as hard?" Kakashi gave her an eye smile, "Right concept wrong degree. It's not precise but for most shinobi learning a 2nd element is typically ten times as hard." His students looked at him with round eyes. "And learning a 3rd element is then 100 times as hard as the first element."

Kakashi held up his hand as they gawked at him, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, the first step is learning your affinities." Kakashi handed them each a specially prepared slip of chakra paper that would react to their natural affinity. There were some surprises. Sasuke thought he would have a fire based affinity because that was the first elemental jutsu he had learned. It turned out his element was **Raiton**, or lightning.

Naruto was wind – something that originally disappointed him. He had wanted fire or lighting because they looked the most powerful. Kakashi quickly disabused him of that notion. "Watch the power of wind Naruto."

Kakashi blurred through the hand seals and ended with a strong thrust on the Snake seal.

**"Futon: Daitoppa"** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)

Immediately gale force winds smashed into one of the trees they had used to practice the tree walking exercise on. The tree resisted for the briefest of instants and then with a great tearing sound it was ripped out of the ground roots and all. The tree smashed into another tree 20 feet away before the gale died.

Naruto's blue eyes widened, "Yeah I can't wait to do that, with that move I'll be Hokage in no time!" Kakashi's eye twitched, "It's a C ranked jutsu Naruto. You have a long way to go even after you master this jutsu."

Kakashi showed the ninja seals required for the move. "Tiger, ox, dog, rabbit and snake are the hand signs. Don't try to push chakra into it. Instead I want you to make a batch of 20 clones. Have five of them working on just the hand signs. You need to move through them swiftly. Have the other five work on tree walking and finally we'll have the other ten work on the first wind training exercise."

While Naruto and his clones worked on the leaf cutting exercise Kakashi had Sakura channel her chakra into the chakra paper. The paper swiftly burnt to a crisp. 'Hmm unfortunate, I had hoped one of them would be earth based to round out the team,' Kakashi thought to himself. Out loud he said "Excellent, Sasuke can help you with your affinity since he already knows how to use a few fire techniques."

Sasuke arched an eye brow, "You can make Kage Bunshin, why aren't you showing me and Sakura at the same time." Kakashi chuckled, "Maa, you have me there. But the purpose of this is more than just learning jutsu it's also to become used to depending on each other." Sasuke sighed but did not scowl or grimace, Kakashi chalked it up as a minor victory.

For the rest of the day Kakashi oversaw their elemental training. Sasuke was a bit miffed he would get no training on Raiton until the next day but it was still far faster than most genin's learned. In fact based on what he had learned from the Academy most genin were not taught elemental jutsu until they made chunin. Besides that teaching Sakura wasn't horrible. She seemed too exhausted to even try to flirt and despite being clearly worn out she was catching the hang of it. She could actually form everything right on the jutsu except she lacked the chakra to actually make it form correctly. It was rather eye opening because normally it would have taken several days or even weeks to learn how to properly learn how to mold chakra to give off heat.

Sasuke was also surprised that by teaching he actually learned a more efficient way to mold the fire chakra himself. It actually increased the strength of his attack by at least 10% - while not drastic it was a surprising and welcome discovery.

Kakashi had the original Naruto stop with the leaf cutting exercise while his clones continued. "Naruto the last thing we will work on today is your taijutsu forms. I need to make sure you've erased the bad habits from the academy." Naruto whined, "Awww but sensei I want to keep learning my new jutsu!" Kakashi's hands blurred as he went through the seals for **Futon: Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough), he lowered the chakra from his last attack so when it struck Naruto it only sent him smashing into a tree and bruising him as opposed to breaking bones.

Naruto groaned. Kakashi looked down at the boy, "Genin, you are under my command. I will tell you what you need to do. This is not a council this is not an organization where everyone votes. I will decide what you do. I can end your training at any time, so I expect you to act like a shinobi and obey orders without backtalk."

Kakashi knew he was being harsh on the boy but he had to break him of his bad habits. He needed to stop being so undisciplined. Better he learn it here then on the field tragically. Kakashi glared at the boy, "Now get up and show me your taijutsu." Naruto huffed and sprang up to his feet. Kakashi watched and was gratified by the fact Naruto was already getting acclimated to the weights. With the demon quickly mending any muscle strains or tears he could increase Naruto's weights faster then what would normally be safe.

Kakashi still had to correct the forms, 'I suppose a couple of days can't fix four years of neglect.' Naruto was also frustrated that he still hadn't perfected the academy forms.

"Hey Kakashi-Sensei can I get my clones to work on this?"

Kakashi shook his head, "It might help some but you need to train your body to instinctively know the correct way to position yourself. Your clones might help you memorize a kata but it won't help much in combat where attacks happen in a blink of an eye." Naruto grumbled and Kakashi had to laugh.

"Naruto you wouldn't be able to run up a tree at this point if you didn't have the Kage Bunshin no jutsu. You should be thankful that your chakra reserves allow you to use the single best training ability available to a shinobi." Naruto had to laugh as well. Days ago he hadn't even thought he could learn so much. By now he had finished the four books; he was quite close to mastering tree walking and was beginning to learn a jutsu.

They finished the day of training and Kakashi walked with Naruto back to Konoha proper. "Naruto have you finished the books I've lent you?" Naruto nodded, "I sure did Kakashi-Sensei, I know a lot more now!" Kakashi gave him an eye smile, "Who is the missing-nin on page 33 of the bingo book." Naruto scratched his head as he responded, "Hmm uh Sasori of the Red Sand?" Kakashi shook his head, "No, that was page 39. I want you to have your clones not only read the book but memorize it."

Naruto shrugged, that was hardly a burden since he wasn't the one actually doing it, he would just have a clone do it. "Hai Sensei."

"I also want you to go to the library and start a lot more reading. I want you to read the histories of all the villages. Read the stories of battles fought recently and from long ago. Read cook books and books on farming. Read about how to craft weapons and how to build structures. Read medical-nin textbooks and books on the art of disguise. Read everything that could possibly give you an edge or a skill that you can use in battle or as a cover identity."

"Wow that's a lot of books!"

"It is but I want you to start leaving behind 10 clones to do nothing but reading. You can make more than the 20 I have you using in training. But I don't want you to go crazy with the number of clones. Training with the potential number of clones you could make has never been tested before." Kakashi looked Naruto in the eye, "We'll increase them slowly and see if it has any adverse effects on your mental state."

Naruto gulped he had never thought about that it would do something to his brain to have that many memories. He shivered a little bit but didn't let his determination waver. The Kage Bunshin would allow him to become the hokage!

"I also want you to make a few clones that will Henge as civilians. With them I want you to just have them wander the streets. Randomly follow your fellow shinobi when you see them for a few minutes."

"Why?"

Kakashi narrowed his eye at the boy and the boy quickly put his hands up.

"I'm not talking back Kakashi-Sensei! I'm just asking why you want me to do it."

Kakashi answered, "So that you can become used to blending in. There will be missions that you take on that will require stealth and subterfuge. Plus it will be a good way for you to figure out the way commerce and civilian life works."

"All right I'll do it; after all I need to know what people do every day so I can tell them how to do it even better when I'm Hokage!"

Kakashi just shook his head and thought, 'you still have long way to go Naruto but I'll help you get there.'

****BREAK****

Over the next few days Team 7 continued to progress. They would wrap up their D ranked missions as soon as possible so they could get in more training. Sakura broke through the wall of exhaustion and could actually run the three miles with no problem. Sakura's chakra reserves were still a bit too low to complete **"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu"** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) but she was getting close.

Sakura's spars with Sasuke were finally lasting more than a few seconds. Sasuke was faster and stronger by a fair margin, this forced Sakura to respond with the absolute best counter to each attack in order to hold parity for even a couple of seconds. For Sasuke the bouts were becoming more interesting as his analysis was showing marked improvement by his teammate. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before they were given real mission.

Naruto taijutsu forms were now imbedded in his fighting style. This meant that his clones were much more dangerous than they were before. Kakashi taught him how to have his clones fight with a purpose and not just blindly rush in like a mob. The white haired man also taught Naruto how the clones were just copies, and not absolutely perfect. No matter how perfect the chakra control his clones would always be weaker in direct battle then the original.

The Jinchuriki's chakra control was growing in leaps and bounds. Having ten clones practice chakra control was like a week straight of chakra exercises for any other shinobi. While he still struggled with the massive chakra, he was swiftly catching up with Sasuke. Naruto had completed the leaf cutting exercise after several days of having multiple clones work on it.

There was more wind affinity training that could be done to hone his skill but Kakashi would save that for later**. Futon: Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) was a fairly easy jutsu to learn. Kakashi would soon have Naruto actually using the jutsu.

Sasuke was having a lot of success with learning Raiton. It had only taken him a day and have to master the equivalent of the leaf cutting exercise. Even considering his drive and genius level intellect Kakashi had been impressed.

Sasuke was amazed at how much easier it was to learn a lightning technique. On one day he asked Kakashi, "Why did my family teach me **Katon** (Fire Release) jutsus instead of **Raiton** (Lighting Release)?" Kakashi had simply responded, "Clans tend to be mired in tradition. You were an Uchiha so they taught you the fire element; it's as simple as that." Sasuke growled when he thought about how difficult it had been to learn a jutsu not of your affinity as a child.

Sasuke learned his first **Raiton** (Lighting Release) technique. It was a simple blast of electricity, depending on the chakra level it could even kill against a particular weak target like a civilian bandit. It was of more use in stunning a target for capture and interrogation. Sasuke could easily see the tactical implications of the technique. It was rather hard to ensure your opponent was still alive with a **Katon** (Fire Release) attack. The attack was either avoided or the target was burned horribly, there was little in between.

At the end of the first week the weights were increased on Sasuke and Naruto. Small ankle weights were added to Sakura. Sakura was actually excited to be including with the boys in carrying extra weight. Despite everything her sadistic sensei was throwing at her she was persevering and improving. Her Sasuke-kun had actually complimented her on one of their spars!

Kakashi was a firm believer in holding your cards close to your chest. To that end after the first week he went for drinks with some of his old ANBU pals and other jonin-sensei. During that time he put down his team quite often. Sitting next to Asuma Sarutobi he groused, "I should have failed that team, I would have to if I didn't think the council would have called for my head for failing their precious Uchiha."

Asuma laughed and took another drink, "It can't be that bad. After all Sasuke did graduate as rookie of the year." Kakashi grunted, "Rookie of the year huh? What can I say, standards have fallen. I'll give you that he isn't awful but he has no teamwork and when the Haruno girl surpassed him in chakra control he threw a hissy fit. He's a spoiled brat; I can't take that on a mission."

Asuma was rather surprised. Considering how often his student Ino went on about how amazing her Sasuke-kun was he had expected him to be a rising star. "What about the others?"

"Where to begin… the first time I met the team Sakura was giggling and blushing over the spoiled brat. Then I learn she has the stamina of a flea. She's a disgrace to kunoichi everywhere. Maa I should have Kurenai Yohi scare her straight sometime.

The bearded jonin shook his head, "To your own student Kakashi? That's cold."

Kakashi took a drink, how he did so without removing his mask was always very curious to everyone around him.

"Naruto is the worst. He screams about being Hokage every chance he gets. Shinobi are silent killers, not loud mouthed brawlers without any chakra control."

Asuma felt bad for his fellow sensei. His team wasn't all roses but at least they worked together and understood how to act like shinobi. "Hang in there Kakashi, you're the best of us, surely some of that will rub off on them."

Kakashi gave a fake sigh, "Maybe… if I don't kill them first." Asuma laughed and ordered another round.

****BREAK****

The 2nd week of D ranked missions and training began. After a hard day of chakra control and conditioning Naruto asked Sakura for a date. Unlike all of the other times back at the Academy Sakura did not pound Naruto. Sakura instead laughed, "Naruto-baka I don't even have the energy to go out with Sasuke-kun even if he did ask me! Kakashi-Sensei is trying to kill me!"

Naruto smiled, he had been turned down but he hadn't been hit. That must mean he was getting on her good side. Soon enough she would be going out as his girlfriend, 'believe it' he thought to himself. Sakura made her way home. She was enamored with her medical-nin textbooks. She was leaning heavily toward that type of training.

Soon she would be working with Kakashi-Sensei on Genjutsu. Sakura was not stupid; she had seen the rapid improvement Naruto had made. And of course her Sasuke-kun was miles ahead of her. She was the weak link on the team but if she could master healing or Genjutsu she would be useful and provide a great support key.

Kakashi-Sensei had talked to them about how a team worked together, using their key strengths in the best possible way. In that way they would be greater than the sum of their parts. Synergy was the word he had used. Sakura had thought about it long and hard. Naruto and Sasuke-kun were learning powerful jutsu and would be fierce close combat fighters. Having another front line fighter wouldn't be adding anything more but a Genjutsu or medical-nin would round out the team nicely.

Sakura finished her taijutsu forms and lay in bed exhausted. Those ankle weights had made things more difficult, she had been tempted to take them off but the thought of letting herself down had prevented her. All of the sparring with Sasuke-kun had made things clear to the bright kunoichi. Sasuke-kun respected strength and strong shinobi, the path to his heart was first to prove that she was a capable and useful member of his team. With that thought in mind she closed her eyes and dropped into sleep instantly.

**AN: **Not sure how to handle jutsu names. I want to use the Japanese spelling because it feels more authentic. However when I first started reading Naruto Fan Fiction I didn't know what anything meant and that was really annoying. I know some authors put what the jutsu's are on the bottom of the chapter but on long chapters it's annoying to do all that scrolling, especially on a phone! I also don't want to clutter up the fiction with the Japanese spelling AND the English spelling in parenthesis every single time. Does anyone have a suggestion?


	5. Chapter 4: The Sharingan!

**AN: **Training will wrap up pretty soon. Land of the Waves will be their first C mission however because Team 7 is different don't expect the fights to follow cannon closely.

**Chapter 4: The Sharingan! **

The next day after the customary D ranked mission Kakashi talked to the team about the art of subterfuge. "Never reveal your strength to the greater shinobi world, let people underestimate you."

Naruto scowled, "But I want to be Hokage, if I hide my strength no one will respect me!"

"You have a long way to go before you can become Hokage Naruto. For now follow my orders, do not display what you are truly capable of," Kakashi ordered. "That also means you Sasuke. You have a reputation for being a genius and were the rookie of the year. So I want you to fix this perception."

Sasuke looked stunned, "What do you mean?"

"It's simple Sasuke," Kakashi explained. "I want you to pick a fight with Choji at the restaurant they like to eat out at after training."

"But I'll defeat him easily, I beat him at the academy and since then I've only gotten stronger."

Kakashi gave him an eye smile, "That's why you'll throw the fight; let him defeat you in front of everyone."

Sasuke scowled he understood the purpose of hiding your strength but it gnawed at him. He was an Uchiha he had his clan pride to think of.

Kakashi eyed the young heir, "It won't be forever but for now its best if everyone thinks this team is trash."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "Hnn." Sasuke thought about it and considered that this might be another of Kakashi's little tests that he threw their way. Thinking about it rationally what was a little humility compared to what Itachi had done to him. If this little farce would cause him to stay in the good graces of his sensei and allow him to progress in his training, then so be it. "Fine but it's going to be hard to look that bad."

The group went to Choji's favorite barbeque spot. Before they went in Kakashi said, "I consider this your first test on subterfuge, if you fail I promise you no C ranked missions for a month."

The team shuddered at the thought of even more D rank missions. Even with Naruto's clones they still were incredibly boring and frustrating to deal with. They walked in doing their best to act normal.

Ino was the first to spot them. "Hey! Look everyone my Sasuke-kun came to visit me!" The young blonde jumped up to give Sasuke a hug. Sasuke stepped away and snarled, "I did not come here to see you. You're a pathetic fan girl on a pathetic team. Between the laziest ninja and the biggest fat ass in Konoha I'm surprised you can even succeed on D rank missions. Stay away from me."

Choji slammed his hands on the table and growled out, "What did you call me?" Kakashi shouted out harshly, "Sasuke, apologize right now." Sasuke grimaced and walked over to the now standing larger boy. "Sorry… fatty." Choji saw red and swung at Sasuke. Sasuke ducked and struck out with a slower than normal kick, Choji easily grabbed the leg and pulled Sasuke hard sending him careening to the ground.

Choji jumped up and then body slammed his weight onto Sasuke. Sasuke could have rolled but he was here to lose at his sensei's instructions. Instead he made his eyes un-focus to make it look like he was stunned when he hit the floor. Sasuke regretted not moving when the crushing weight knocked the wind out of his lungs completely. Choji pounded Sasuke before Kakashi and Asuma quickly pulled him off the boy.

"Don't you ever call me fat! I don't care who you are!"

The entire restaurant was shocked. The Uchiha heir had just been beaten by Choji! Granted Choji wasn't bad for a shinobi but he was middle of the road as far as genins were concerned. Kakashi apologized to Choji and would make sure his student was properly disciplined for his rude behavior. Sasuke was bleeding from the mouth and a rib ached but he was able to stager out under his own volition.

Ino looked shocked at what had happened. Her first instinct was to yell at Choji for hurting her Sasuke-kun but after a second thought she realized Sasuke had acted like a complete jerk. She still thought he was hot but if his personality was so abrasive maybe she should tell Sakura that she could have him!

Naruto also apologized. "Sorry about that Choji but Sasuke is a real jerk! I wish I was on your team." Choji grunted and returned to his food. Sakura huffed and said, "You're just lucky Sasuke wasn't expecting to get attacked otherwise he would have creamed you!"

"Shut up forehead," Ino responded. "Let's just eat in peace." Naruto was agreeable but Sakura feared Naruto's ability to stay in cover so she said, "All right fine but we're leaving." Naruto looked confused, "We are?"

"Yes Naruto-baka!" The pink haired girl grabbed her teammate by the scruff of his orange jumpsuit and marched out of the restaurant.

After they were a bit away from the restaurant Kakashi congratulated Sasuke, "Well done, I'm impressed you were able to get past your pride." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Tell me Sasuke, do you know the other reasons I told you to do this?"

"Hnn." Sasuke was not in the mood to guess.

His sensei gave him an eye smile, "Pride kills in battle. I wanted your pride to take a blow so you won't act like a foolish ninja when a real battle begins. Arrogance is a death sentence; if you take that lesson to heart then I have succeeded as your jonin-sensei."

Sasuke stayed silent and kept walking. Kakashi knew this had been hard for his student but it had been necessary. Due to Sasuke following his instructions it was time to provide the carrot. It was time to unlock the Sharingan.

'And I know just the person who can help me with this…'

****BREAK****

It had been another exhausting day of training with team 7 for Sasuke. He disliked some of the things his sensei required of him however he could endure them. If it made him stronger then he would endure anything. Today Kakashi had them use Kawarimi no Jutsu (substitution jutsu) to race against each other. Using that jutsu as fast as they could with logs spread 10 meters apart it had been a 200 meter race.

Sakura had gotten off to an early lead, her chakra control a strong advantage in this type of race. Sasuke had quickly caught up though. After the 5th substitution she had needed to rest in between substitutions. Sasuke had won the race and immediately saw the battle field implications. Being able to do this move quickly would mean the difference between life and death.

Sasuke made it back to the empty Uchiha district. The place was a ghost town, all thanks to his brother Itachi. Every time he saw it would swear vengeance anew against his brother. How could he have massacred his entire clan? How could he have left him all alone? Hot rage burned within the young orphan, he would make Itachi pay.

Sasuke sensed another presence just as he reached his home. He whirled around hand on a kunai as he saw two figures approach. They walked without haste, one was a male shinobi in middle years and the other was a kunoichi that looked to be in her early 20s. Both wore Iwagakure forehead protectors.

The male wore dark colors, brown and gray that seemed to blend seamlessly with his surroundings. It was form fitting and he looked to be carrying nothing but a single scroll at his waist. The kunoichi had an assortment of kunai and other sharp implements attached to her vest and had a short curved sword on her left side. Her outfit showcased a slim figure revealing curves that most adolescent boys would have drooled over. Sasuke warily watched as the pair approached.

'What were Iwa shinobi doing here?'

"Don't come any closer! Why are Iwa shinobi within the borders of Konoha? The two figures stopped. The female eyed Sasuke with hungry eyes while the male responded. "Greeting Sasuke-San. We have come from Iwa to make you an offer."

"An offer?"

"Yes the Tsuchikage wants to extend the hand of friendship to you. Leave Konohagakure and join a village that will help you gain strength. In Iwagakure you will have tutors and instructors who will give you personal attention. We can help you bring back the Uchiha clan faster than this pathetic village."

Sasuke was not the most patriotic of shinobi. But to have his home casually insulted by foreign shinobi simply wasn't acceptable. "Hnn, from what I remember in the Academy this 'pathetic' village defeated Iwa during the last war."

Both foreigners scowled, the kunoichi actually hissed at him. The male responded, "That occurred because of the Yellow Devil." He paused, "And back then Konoha had a full strength Uchiha clan that could also fight, right now I only see you." Sasuke scowled at being reminded once again what Itachi had taken from him.

"There is more to this offer. Iwa wants the Uchiha clan flourish again. You can have your pick of kunoichi to partner with, as long as you attempt to propagate your clan monthly you can choose any female shinobi you wish." Instead of being enticed by the offer Sasuke was disgusted. He hated the fan girls he had to put up with, now an entire village wanted to use him for his genes? They didn't care about his strength or his goal; they just wanted him to help spawn a clan of Iwa Sharingan users.

Sasuke took careful note of his surroundings. There did not appear to be anyone else around. The two from Iwa were probably jonin level. They moved with confidence and he could sense their chakra. Fighting them would be foolish, he decided to pretend to consider the issue and then report this to the ANBU immediately.

"Give me time to think on it, can you return tomorrow?"

The kunoichi barked out a laugh. "Boy do you think you can fool us? You could have had even me if you agreed. But it's obvious you aren't interested." The older shinobi shook his head in disappointment. "My apologies Sasuke-San but if Iwa cannot have your bloodline then no one will." His hands blurred with the seals as he shouted.

**"Doton: Dosekiryu"** (Earth Style: Earth Dragon)

Sasuke was ready for a possible attack. He jumped straight back and landed on the wall of his home. A dragon shaped mass of earth smashed where he had vacated just a split second afterward. The kunoichi launched a half dozen shurikens at him that Sasuke hastily blocked with his kunai. Sasuke clung to the wall with his chakra and then leapt up onto the roof.

The enemy was waiting for him there a sadistic grin etched on her face. 'How did she get here so fast?' She drew her curved blade and licked the tip of it. "Ready to die boy?"

Sasuke threw a smoke bomb down to hide his actions; he threw a kunai at her as a distraction and made his break. A blade slashed out of the smoke, he barely avoided taking a serious wound. As it was he had been nicked on the shoulder.

Sasuke tried to back away but his enemy was too fast. Her blade was everywhere and it took every ounce of skill Sasuke possessed just to keep from being sliced open. His kunai parried an attack and he tried to lash out with a surprise kick but his opponent used her own leg to block and then used the same leg to kick him across the face. Sasuke turned with the blow to avoid serious damage. Rolling in the direction of the kick he threw his kunai to free up his hands then rushed through the necessary seals.

**"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu"** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

She dodged to the left, avoiding being burnt to a crisp. She lunged back into the fight. Sasuke took another cut, this time across his ribs. Sasuke had lost track of the second shinobi. This wasn't good for the last Uchiha. He couldn't defeat his current opponent and even if he could get the edge no doubt her partner would come in and finish him off. He didn't have time to dwell on this since all of his concentration was on the fearsome kunoichi who was slashing like a dervish.

"Too slow boy!"

Sasuke doubled over, he had blocked high to avoid a descending strike and the Iwa shinobi had rushed forward and hit him with a flying knee to the solar plexus. He collapsed on the ground struggling to breathe. His dark haired opponent smirked down in triumph. "Die!" Her blade whipped forward and Sasuke used the substitution jutsu faster than he had ever done so in his life. The kunoichi whirled instantly knowing where he had switched to. Sasuke tried the new jutsu Kakashi had taught him.

**"Raiton: Shokku"** (Lighting Release: Jolt)

She side stepped the jutsu, again faster than his eye could follow. The enemy nin laughed and stalked forward. Only this time she seemed to be taunting him. She was moving slowly and deliberately. Almost as if he wasn't worth her time. Sasuke snarled and charged her. His kunai smashed into her blade, even her block had been slow. Instantly he saw her body flex, she was going to kick him again. This time he saw the move and ducked under her foot and slashed at it with his kunai. She hastily tried to move, and was mostly successful but he had at least drawn blood from her calf.

Her eyes were furious and a vicious gleam started to show. "All right you stinking brat, you are going to pay for that!" Sasuke readied himself when he heard Kakashi's voice call out, "That's enough Anko-San." Sasuke's eyes widened. He looked at the Iwa shinobi who had just displaced the Henge that surrounded her. He now openly stared at the oddly dressed leaf tokubetsu jonin.

"What the hell Kakashi-Sensei! Another one of your damn tests?" Sasuke furiously glared at his instructor.

"Maa, relax Sasuke, you aren't going to die. Doesn't that make you happy?" Sasuke kept his glare steady. "I did this for you, as a reward for being so diligent in your training as well as putting aside your pride." Sasuke stared blankly at him. Kakashi tapped his eye. Sasuke's eyes widened. "The Sharingan! That's why your movements slowed down."

Anko laughed, "Are you sure he's a genius Kakashi?"

Sasuke glared at her, "So this was all to get my Sharingan unlocked? You could have killed me! You weren't pulling your blows." Anko snickered, "I had it under control, and besides from what Kakashi tells me, the easiest way to unlock the Sharingan is to be in fear of your life while trying to watch someone fast." Sasuke resisted the urge to lash out at the both of them and only stopped himself because he knew it would be futile.

Konoha's snake mistress then said, "Well it's time for me to get going, remember our deal Kakashi!" Kakashi nodded once, "Hai, just remember to keep quiet about tonight." Anko shunshined away, leaving Kakashi alone with Sasuke. Sasuke was torn between relief he wasn't going to die, triumph at unlocking the Sharingan and anger at the jonin for putting him through this.

"With the Sharingan you will be able to learn jutsu very quickly, we'll begin tomorrow. And of course do not reveal it to anyone outside of our team." Sasuke breathed out slowly and let his anger out, "Hai Kakashi-Sensei… and thank you." Kakashi smiled beneath his mask and jumped to the next roof top back to his own home.

****BREAK****

It was drawing close to the end of the 2nd week of Kakashi's training regimen. All of his students were finally getting the level the academy should have gotten them too. Kakashi supposed it could have been worse, two weeks was only two weeks after all. He thought about the progress each had made.

Sasuke had unlocked the Sharingan greatly expanding his ability to fight in close quarters. In addition it allowed him to copy jutsu; Kakashi had already shared several with him. Unlike everyone else without the dojutsu learning ninjutsu was a piece of cake with the Sharingan. It wasn't perfect, the Sharingan saw almost everything but since each shinobi's chakra system was different it had to be adapted to the user's very own chakra system in order to get maximum effect. But as a learning tool the Sharingan was unsurpassed. Even Naruto's Kage Bunshin training technique paled in comparison.

Beyond just the Sharingan, Sasuke had begun to act as part of a team. He was motivated to help the rest of team 7 so he could progress further and faster. His comments to Sakura after their spars were a lot less harsh and his insights he provided Sakura had helped. More over Sasuke realized that as opposed to being a hindrance his team could actually help him get stronger. His pride was still there but now it was hidden as the boy forcibly suppressed it.

Kakashi knew part of it was an act. Sasuke still thought he was the latest and greatest shinobi to join the ninja core. At two weeks the elite jonin would take it, after all if you fake something long enough you start to actually become it. It was a problem for deep cover ANBU operatives and Sasuke had none of ANBU's personality retention training. Before he knew it a little humility would no longer be an act but part of his personality make up.

Sasuke's conditioning was on point as well. He had taken to the weights extremely well and now moved even faster with the weights then he had without them. It was time to increase them. He was a long way away from Rock Lee from his 'eternal rival's' team but he had made a good start.

Naruto was the other genin who had improved by leaps and bounds. His taijutsu was now up to acceptable levels. His movements were far more efficient and actually resembled that of a shinobi. Soon it would be time to have him pick a fighting style beyond the core basics the academy taught. The weights would eventually make him taijutsu monster. Because of the unnatural healing and stamina gained from the kyubi he would catch up with Gai's prize students in no time. Kakashi had him at double the weights Sasuke was currently wearing. The first day with new weights was killer for Naruto but by the next he was already starting to get used to them.

Naruto had also started eating healthy, the changes were subtle but when Kakashi looked with his Sharingan he saw that Naruto was starting to fill out appropriately. The extra nutrients would hopefully give the boy a growth spurt soon. Naruto's personality was still hyper active but he was starting to control it. His knowledge base had increased significantly and when Kakashi had last quizzed him on the bingo book Naruto had answered all of his queries correctly.

Kakashi had also taught Naruto **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) to Naruto. Kakashi had to twitch when he found the training area littered with fallen trees thanks to his student's excited overuse of the technique. His next lesson would be to teach his team how to combine the **Katon: Gokakyu **(Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) and **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) together for maximum damage.

Sakura was also impressive. While she still had a long way to go in terms of increasing her stamina her drive was surprising. Kakashi had spied on the girl while she did her morning and evening routines and she had not flinched from completing them religiously. Sakura's chakra control was as fantastic as it had been but now she was gaining chakra reserves. By the end of the week she too would be able to use **Katon: Gokakyu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique). Technically she still wouldn't have the chakra reserves for it however because of her extreme chakra control she could still make the jutsu work; it just wouldn't be as powerful as a normal shinobi's. 'Of course that will be after less than a month of chakra conditioning work. Give her another month and she'll be able to use it just as well as anyone,' Kakashi thought to himself.

After she mastered that technique he would give her an entry level Genjutsu to use, then she would need to make a decision on which path she was going to take. Medic-nin or Genjutsu specialist, either one would enhance the overall capabilities of Team 7.

Kakashi settled into his humble abode. After a long day of training his genins then doing his own physical conditioning and training he decided to relax by reading one of his Icha Icha novels. A new one had just come in and he had been looking forward to it. He had been tempted to relapse into old bad habits and just read it while his genin trained but he had forced himself not to. Tomorrow would be a day dedicated to team tactics and combination attacks. If they took to it well enough he might throw them a bone and let them go on their first C ranked mission.

**AN: **Thank you for the reviews! I am definitely motivated by them. I probably won't update until Sunday but it should be a nice big chapter. :)


	6. Chapter 5: Land of Waves!

**AN: ** I've added my own twist to Genjutsu – the mechanics don't seem fleshed out. I'd love to hear your thoughts on what I did with it. Also I don't fully understand shunshin from the wiki or from watching the anime. I'm going to go with my own interpretation on what makes sense for a D ranked jutsu.

**Chapter 5: Land of Waves!**

Team 7 had just completed another D ranked mission. All of them were getting sick of them. Naruto especially had been vocal about it. Kakashi had put him on his back quick for his lip. Impressively enough the boy had blocked his first two attacks before Kakashi had put him down. He wasn't going at maximum speed but that had still been impressive.

"I know all of you are itching to prove yourselves but haste makes dead shinobi. These next lessons are going to be critically important. Teamwork is the key to all the great teams. Ino-Shika-Cho being the famous one of my generation. Individually none of them are inferior shinobi but they are not stand out fighters. Together they have taken multiple teams on at once and emerged triumphant."

'That famous group is actually the parents of Choji, Shikamaru and Ino,' Sakura realized.

All three genin looked ready and eager to learn. 'Ah motivation, what a beautiful thing it is,' Kakashi wryly thought to himself. "All right first up I want Sasuke to use **Katon: Gokakyu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball technique) and Naruto you will use **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)." Kakashi walked up to a tree and carve an x over the center of its trunk. "This is your target, oh and Sakura stand back a bit."

**"Futon: Daitoppa"** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)

**"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu"** (Fire Release: Great Fireball technique)

The two ninjutsu collided together and blew the tree apart. The fire storm smashed the scorched the tree into pieces; it continued on to blacken the trees behind it. Kakashi had one of his clones use a water jutsu to put out the flames that had caught a few of the trees nearby. The genin merely stared with wide eyes.

"When you practice this technique don't use it on anymore trees, otherwise we'll lose our village name's sake," Kakashi joked.

Naruto let out a yell, "That was AMAZING! That attack could destroy anything." Kakashi's eye twitched. "Naruto there are plenty of defenses against the attack, who can name a supplementary jutsu that could stop this attack?" Sakura answered, "Kawarimi no Jutsu" (Substitution Technique). Kakashi graced her with an eye smile. "Correct, attacks like the one you saw can be defeated with minor chakra output."

Naruto squinted with his eyes. "Then what is the point? Why did we learn these jutsu if they aren't going to help?"

Kakashi answered, "Because sometimes there is nothing nearby that can be used to switch places with. Additionally if the shinobi is caught unprepared this attack can hit them before they realize the danger they are in. Or the shinobi is using their own jutsu on you, so not only do you counter their attack but crush them with this. Maybe your comrade put them in a Genjutsu, even if it only lasted a second it would be long enough for this jutsu to kill. And of course there is the ever present number one shinobi killer… arrogance. Surely a genin jutsu couldn't beat my defense a higher ranked shinobi might say. Well this will come as a big surprise and possibly a fatal one. Now do you see the purpose?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Sasuke had thought of some of Kakashi's scenarios but not all of them. The combination of the two jutsu's actually rivaled the destructive power of some A ranked jutsus. Sasuke once again reevaluated the benefit of having a team; he was starting to see several advantages to having strong allies at his back.

Sakura was impressed with the damage done by the jutsu and wished her chakra reserve was higher. Her sensei had said she only needed a little bit more reserves before she too could use the Katon jutsu. When that happened she could also be a valued member of the team. Sakura could also sense that Kakashi had meant the Genjutsu comment for her. Sakura was falling in love with the concept of being a medic-nin but would keep an open mind when Kakashi-Sensei taught her a Genjutsu.

"This is a kill move and should be used with caution if we need the target alive. Speaking of which lets talk about protocol for keeping enemies alive," Kakashi told his team. "If dealing with an unknown shinobi everyone should fight to kill. I've mentioned it in previous lesson but it bears repeating. Kill quickly – a wise shinobi knows that they are in danger until the opponent is dead."

Kakashi gave Naruto a look, "Naruto here will be calling out our opponents based on the bingo books I've had him memorize. If the enemy is chunin or lower, it is safe to attempt to capture. If you recognize a jonin level foe, let us know and we will fight to kill. Capturing an enemy is significantly harder then killing one but information is life, sometimes the added risk is worth it."

Kakashi took a deep breath as the next point hit close to him. "If the goal is to capture someone alive but your comrade will perish unless you unleash a deadly jutsu then unleash the deadly jutsu," Kakashi commanded. His tone took one of reverence, "Those who don't follow rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."

The infamous copy-cat nin looked carefully in each of his genin's faces. All of them had acknowledged what he had said. "All right moving on, subterfuge is a basic shinobi art that isn't used often enough. Due to Naruto's mastery of the Kage Bunshin we have a wonderful tool to use." Sasuke thought about some of the tactical implications and smirked, having that many extra bodies had lots of advantages.

"Naruto when a battle begins you should attempt to flood the area with another 20-30 Kage Bunshin. Henge a few to make them look like us, while you do this Sakura will make regular clones to make it more confusing for the enemy. They won't be able to Henge but will add to the distraction. At that point Naruto you are to call out if you identify the enemy. We don't need fancy code words, just identify the threat."

Naruto cocked his head to the side, "What type of information should I provide?" Kakashi responded, "Rank primarily, any known tactics or specialties. Remember if chunin or lower we go for the capture, if it is a jonin we kill." Kakashi turned to Sasuke, "Meanwhile you will activate your Sharingan and determine if our attackers are using any illusions, you will do this even if we are facing bandits, ronin or samurai. It is easy for a shinobi to pretend to be something they are not. I knew an ANBU operative who assumed the bandits were just bandits and he lost his life when the hidden shinobi blew his head off."

Sakura shivered. She could only imagine what kind of jutsu did that! She rubbed her arms a bit, Kakashi was serious. The life of a shinobi was life and death when they entered the battle. "If everything is as it should be then no need to call out anything. If it is a jonin then Naruto's clones will engage the enemy, feel free to add ranged weapons and jutsu as you like. Killing the enemy before they get close diminishes the risk you face in the battle."

Kakashi eyed Sasuke, "I'll repeat this for you Sasuke, shinobi battles are not the place to "test" your abilities. That's a good way to get killed and where will your ambition be then? You will electrocute burn and pierce enemies from a distance."

Sasuke frowned but responded with a, "Hai Sensei!" Sasuke paused, "But only against jonin threats – otherwise I can get close correct?" Kakashi nodded.

"Time your attacks so they work together. Not just with a jutsu combination but with any move. If you throw a kunai with an explosive tag the shinobi will probably jump in one direction. As soon as you determine that direction unleash your attack. Because the Sharingan allows you to see even minute muscle twitches and glances, you are the clean up Sasuke. Naruto and Sakura will make them move and then you will finish it."

Sasuke understood his role and was pleased with it. He was the executioner, it seemed fitting for an avenger like himself. They drilled various combination moves and attacks – they also discussed what to do when faced with certain situations. Kakashi drilled the tenets that he operated by over and over. Teamwork first. Never assume you've won. Don't talk about your abilities. Kill quickly.

Kakashi was pleased with how the team was coming together. Towards the end of the day he started Naruto and Sasuke on the water walking exercise with his clone and started working with Sakura on Genjutsu.

"The Genjutsu we will be learning is the technique I used on you. It is not a powerful Genjutsu but it will be a great starting point," Kakashi explained. "The technique is called **Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu**." (Demonic Illusion – Hell Viewing Technique) Sakura's eyes widened, "That's a basic Genjutsu? The one that made me see Sasuke dying in front of me?"

Kakashi eyed the genin, "Yes. The Genjutsu is pretty basic, for a variety of reasons." Kakashi held up his index finger as he said, "One, it doesn't change what you see, it only adds to the victims senses. This means unlike other Genjutsu that completely obscures the victims five senses and replaces it with their own version of reality this one just adds one scene." Kakashi held up a second finger and continued, "Two, it only effects two senses, sight and hearing. Your sense of taste, touch and smell were not impacted. This makes the jutsu quite easy to detect and why I was not surprised that you fell for it so easily." Kakashi raised a third finger, "And finally it does not reveal the victim's greatest fear, instead it reflects the victim's most probable recent fear."

Sakura scrunched her brow as she thought about it, "Can you explain that a little to me a little bit more thoroughly?"

Kakashi complied, "If I had used this jutsu after having dinner with your family you may have seen your mother or father dying. It all depends on the emotional bond you have with individuals. The jutsu isn't even specific to that; it could be failure to realize a dream or desire, either way it is not necessarily the deepest or darkest fear someone has."

"Thank you Kakashi-Sensei. How do I make the Genjutsu work?" Kakashi explained how Genjutsu worked, how it attacked the enemies chakra and took over their senses. Triggers were most frequently sight but some shinobi even used sound or smell to initiate them. "In theory I suppose it can be done by taste and touch but I have not seen a Genjutsu function that way." Sakura eagerly drank up all of the knowledge that was given to her.

Kakashi showed her how to infuse her chakra into her victim's chakra network. With Sakura's excellent chakra control it wasn't difficult at all. Kakashi also used it on Sakura again, this time she saw Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi dying before her eyes. Knowing how it worked she was able to ignore the effect. She decided to test it by walking up to Sasuke and touching the image; it wavered as she did so and then dissipated.

Her sensei taught her how to break Genjutsu as well. "Knowing you are under a Genjutsu is half of the battle. After that you can flood your chakra system with your own chakra breaking the effect, or you can cause physical pain to yourself. Neither method is full proof but a skilled Genjutsu specialist should have an easier time breaking out of one."

After Sakura tried a few times they called it a day and Sakura went home to complete her evening exercises. Sakura was an intelligent kunoichi; after the teamwork exercises she could see the advantage of Genjutsu. If she could pin an opponent in place for even a second or two then Naruto and Sasuke could hammer them with their jutsu combination.

'Perhaps I should focus on Genjutsu, but if Sasuke-kun or even Naruto ever got injured I'd just hate myself forever if I couldn't heal them because I passed up on medical-nin training!'

Sakura tossed and turned that night. Medical training or Genjutsu? Medical training or Genjutsu? Both had their advantages. With Genjutsu the team's jutsu combination kill combo would be quite dangerous. If they could kill the enemy before anyone could get injured wasn't that better? Sakura shivered when she thought about killing. Kakashi talked about it a lot and it was now her biggest concern.

Killing someone that was trying to kill you was one thing. But Kakashi talked about how the best way to kill someone is end their life before they even knew it was in danger. Could she really kill in cold blood? Sakura continued to toss and turn as she wrestled with that question for most of the night.

****BREAK****

At the three week mark Kakashi finally allowed them to take a rank C mission. The final jutsu he wanted them to master before taking a higher ranked mission was the shunshin. With it they had a powerful tool to escape with if they needed to.

The shunshin was a misunderstood jutsu. To a civilian it looked like a teleportation jutsu. In reality it was just a shinobi moving incredibly fast using chakra to boost their speed. The jutsu had its weaknesses, while the speed was great it did not allow a shinobi to move their limbs faster, it essentially just pushed a tremendous amount of momentum in a single direction. It could even be dangerous to one's self if used improperly.

The Sharingan wielder has taught his students the dangers and when to use it. Sasuke, using the Sharingan had learned it the quickest, next was Sakura but Naruto wasn't too far behind when he created a dozen clones to help him learn it. With that in place Kakashi felt the time was right to give his team a 'real' mission.

Team 7 reported to the Hokage tower with Naruto literally jumping up and down with excitement. Kakashi stopped the team, "Naruto if you want to go on the mission settle down. You are embarrassing the team." Naruto forced himself to calm down.

"Sorry Kakashi-Sensei!"

Kakashi was handed the mission folder. "Hmm we will be escorting an architect to Nami no Kuni Kakashi scanned the paperwork. "Our client is concerned about increased bandit activity preventing his workers from completing a bridge. This should be a simple C ranked mission – bandits will be no match. But remember arrogance can get you killed so I want everyone to be on their toes." The three genin nodded and Kakashi motioned them to follow. It was time to meet their client.

The Hokage was there and Naruto had to avoid saying hi to his jiji. Kakashi had been very firm with Naruto on how to act around a client. The client stepped out drinking from a bottle. He took a swig and said, "What? I paid for bodyguards and all I get are little kids?" Naruto scowled, "Who are you calling a little kid?" Kakashi's eye twitched. The Hokage merely chuckled. "Tazuna-san, you have one of the leaf's best shinobi, an elite jonin with you. You will be more than safe in his capable hands."

Naruto pointed his thumb at himself. "And me! I'm going to be the next Hokage and then you'll have to respect me!" Hiruzen attempted to suppress his mirth at Kakashi's expense. With his crystal ball he had seen exactly how hard Kakashi had trained team 7. He had also seen how hard Kakashi had worked to get Naruto to act like a proper shinobi.

Kakashi's frosty tone was not lost on Naruto. "If you are done Naruto it is time to prepare for the mission. Meet at the front gate and prepare for travel, since we are escorting a civilian the trip to Nami no Kuni should take two days." Naruto suppressed a groan, he had already made his sensei mad and the mission hadn't even started! 'I'm going to do better; Kakashi-Sensei is going to be proud of me for the rest of this mission!' Naruto made this silent promise and intended to keep it.

Two later they were all at the front gate. Tazuna looked impatient to be on his way. Kakashi eyed him; something didn't feel right about the mission. Kakashi decided to let things go – it was doubtful that anything on this mission would pose a challenge to a shinobi of his caliber. Furthermore his team had dramatically improved with his training. All the same he would be on his guard; over confidence was the sure path to death.

"All right Naruto since we are leaving Konoha I want you to create eight clones. Have them fan out at variable distances within a mile of the group. If one of them sees something have it dispel so you can then inform us. Try to have them be a least a little stealthy," Kakashi ordered.

"No problem Kakashi-Sensei!" Naruto quickly made the required number of shadow clones and sent them on their way. Tazuna did not know much about shinobi abilities but that one sure looked useful in keeping him safe. He felt a bit bad about lying to the shinobi especially with the fact they were just kids but this was his countries only hope.

During the first hour of the journey Naruto was keeping a sharp eye out for any sign of danger. In fact he was a bit too jumpy as he twitched and prepared for battle every time a woodland creature moved. Kakashi cautioned Naruto, "Naruto while it's good you are taking it seriously, it's important that you stop sounding false alarms." Naruto flushed all of the talk about death and killing and battle tactics had made him a bit jump. Kakashi added, "And keep in mind even if you did spot an enemy coming it's not always a good idea to sound the alarm, if they feel they have the surprise when they don't t it can be a nasty surprise. So calm down a bit."

"Hai Kakashi-Sensei."

The journey continued for another couple of hours when Kakashi saw a puddle of water. It hadn't rained in a few days so it was quite out of place for his finely honed senses. Without changing his movements in the slightest Kakashi reached out with his senses and determined that there were two enemy shinobi hiding. 'Unlikely a jonin level enemy would make that mistake. I'll be ready to step in if things go poorly but my team needs real shinobi combat,' Kakashi thought to himself.

Sure enough after a few moments as the group walked by the puddle two shinobi each wielding a large gauntlet attacked. They struck at the most dangerous target first. Kakashi completed an undetectable replacement jutsu right as a chain that connected the two gauntlets and shinobi together was wrapped around him. Kakashi stayed hidden off to the side, as he watched what his team would do.

Naruto shouted, "Chunin level! Missing-nin from Kirigakure (Hidden Mist), affinity with water and they use poison! He had shouted this information as he performed the Kage Bunshin deploying over a dozen shadow clones. Sakura created regular clones that dashed forward attempting to distract the two chunin level opponents.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and saw Kakashi hiding off to the side. 'Hnn guess he thinks we can handle them.' Sasuke smirked as he threw a few shuriken at the pair of shinobi racing for them. The shuriken were avoided but right behind them came in the Naruto horde. The first wave had raced forward while the 2nd had paused to Henge to look like Sakura and Sasuke. The missing-nin used the chain to good effect, catching two of the clones right away.

One of the clones attempted a flying kick that the enemy on the left ducked. Another clone attempted a strike at the torso of the one on the right. A quick jab made the clone poof into smoke. The final clone of the first five came in right behind the clone that had just been dealt with and kicked him in the knee cap. The blow was strong and Gozu's leg buckled underneath him.

The second wave of clones had arrived mingled in with Sakura's images. The mass of opponents they were suddenly faced with surprised them. Gozu had to released the chain and quickly defend himself as multiple clones attacked. Several more went poof but Naruto just grinned and made more.

Sakura fired off a pair of kunai further distracting the two. Sasuke choose that moment to strike. As Meizu blocked the kunai with his gauntlet Sasuke dashed forward with surprising speed. His fist slammed into his opponent's ribs, Meizu grunted and tried to bring his poison tipped gauntlet around but with the Sharingan spinning it was telegraphed and easily avoided.

A Naruto clone kicked the back of Meizu's calf sending him to the ground. Sasuke took full advantage and grabbed the gauntleted arm and snapped the enemy shinobi's arm. A kunai appeared in his hand and was held at the demon brother's throat. Meizu was beaten and he knew it. Gozu was favoring one leg while the Naruto clones rushed him. He could not get free of the clones to come help his brother.

Naruto saw one of his clones jump in the air and he knew his next move. Gozu was popping clones left and right but since they were only coming in two or three at a time he had several to deal that were always easily replaced. The clone that leapt into the air was quickly hit with a Kawarimi from the real Naruto who was now in the air and in perfect position to use his jutsu. He flashed through the hand signs in mid air.

**"Futon: Daitoppa"** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)

The blast of air crashed down at an angle on Gozu. The blast destroyed several clones but that was just fine by Naruto. The gale force wind slammed Gozu into the ground with tremendous force. Because it was at an angle he slid a good 15 feet, the abrasive ground cut through his clothing and ripped up skin. Even before he finished sliding several clones landed next to him and pinned him down. One held a kunai at his throat. "Move and you die," the Naruto clone said in a calm voice.

Sakura had been defending Tazuna after throwing two of her kunai. She was relieved and happy that the battle was over. It had been their first shinobi battle and it was won without any injuries! Kakashi congratulated them and quickly secured their two prisoners. He attached a chakra seal and secured them tightly enough not even a jonin could escape.

He then turned to the bridge builder, "We need to talk about what is really going on." Tazuna looked around, "What do you mean?" Kakashi raised his killing intent and Tazuna backed up as the oppressive pressure bore down on him. The jonin's voice took on a cold and ominous tone. "You lied about the mission parameters, that could have gotten us killed. Were you in league with this shinobi? Was this a trap set for us?"

Kakashi did not think that was the case at all but fear could be a powerful motivator in making someone talk. As he suspected Tazuna stumbled over himself trying to explain himself. "I'm not working with them! I swear." Tazuna held his hands up as he backed away. "They were trying to kill me to stop me from building the bridge!"

Sasuke smirked, 'Sensei is good.' "Hai Tazuna-san I never doubted they wanted you dead, but why are there shinobi trying to stop you from building the bridge?" Kakashi asked the question in a more conversational tone and Tazuna relaxed. The architect sagged. The jonin believed him but he had given it away he was expecting the attack. "All right I'll tell you everything. It all started when a despicable man by the name of Gato came to our land."

Tazuna proceeded to tell the story of the suffering of Nami no Kuni. The four leaf-nin listened to his story. Naruto in particular wanted to save them from Gato who reminded him of the bullies in the village who had mocked him and tried to take away his will to go on. Gato was doing the same thing, demoralizing and controlling an entire land simply because he had the resources to do it. Naruto shouted out, "We are going to save your country and kick out this Gato guy. Believe it!"

Kakashi interrupted, "Naruto not so fast. This was supposed to have been a C ranked mission. Any mission that involves enemy shinobi is automatically at least a B ranked mission. Genin do not take B ranked missions."

"Hn," Sasuke responded.

"But we have to help them," Naruto shouted.

Sakura remained quiet, she wanted to help the people of Nami no Kuni but shouldn't this be handled by a more experienced team? Yes Tazuna had said that they couldn't afford to pay for a B ranked mission but what if Sasuke-kun or Naruto got hurt?

Inner Sakura screamed, "Coward! You're afraid, if you want to be a shinobi you have to be willing to fight! So go out there and fight! Show Sasuke-Kun what you are made of! Cha Cha Cha!"

Sakura bit her lip and then quietly but firmly said, "We can do it. We are a team and look at what we have accomplished. Please Kakashi-Sensei; please let us continue the mission!" Both Naruto and Sasuke looked at her, Naruto grateful and Sasuke was appraising her in a new way.

Kakashi looked at his genin team and thought about the situation. Likely they would face another threat this time it would probably be a jonin. If a jonin was their opponent Kakashi was confident he could handle the threat however battle was never a certain thing he would have to be on his guard.

'Is my team ready? Perhaps but I'll need to test how far they are willing to go. Sasuke would have no qualms and I'm confident about Naruto. But Sakura…'

The leader of team 7 told his team, "I have decided how we should handle this. Sakura it will be your choice. If you wish to continue this mission you must prove you are fully committed." Tazuna looked on hopeful. Naruto was confused, "What do you mean? Sakura already said she wanted to continue."

"It's simple; I know you and Sasuke have the killer instinct to fight with the intent to kill. I don't know if Sakura does. In order to prove to me that she does have that instinct she must kill one of our prisoners."

Everyone tensed at the announcement. Sakura froze, her eyes widening in horror. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and tried to think of a way around Kakashi's test. 'This might work,' he thought. "Kakashi-Sensei these two might have information. We should keep them alive." Kakashi laughed, "Nice try Sasuke. I appreciate you trying to work as a team however both of them probably have the same amount of information. There is no point in leaving both alive. Sakura will have to past this test."

Sakura's mind shrank away from the task. In the middle of combat she felt she could kill if it meant saving Sasuke-kun's life or that of another leaf shinobi. But in cold blood? After the battle is finished? It was unthinkable. But if she didn't do it the people of Nami no Kuni would continue to suffer under the tyrant businessman's boot.

Sakura looked at the two missing-nin and swallowed thickly. She looked at the faces of her teammates. Naruto looked shocked at the turn of events. Sasuke looked pissed, likely because he thought she wouldn't go through with it. Tazuna looked at her with pleading eyes. Sakura's hand was shaking. How could her sensei make her do this?

Kakashi raised his voice, "Did you think being a shinobi was glamorous? We are assassins, thieves, spies and infiltrators. If you aren't willing to kill you aren't going to be on this team. Don't mistake my meaning Sakura; if you don't kill you will remain on team 7 I will give you future chances. However at some point or another I will require that you kill someone – if you can't do that then drop out and work at the Konoha hospital."

Sakura didn't want to let her team down. She didn't want to let the people of Nami no Kuni down. She pulled out a kunai. Her hand trembled. Tears welled at her eyes. This was the moment of truth. A heavy weight pressed down on her chest. If she did this her path in life would be different then she had ever dreamed it could be. Would she walk the killer's path?

**AN: **I couldn't resist ending on a cliff hanger! And yeah – Kakashi might be a genius but he's also a highly efficient assassin. He is not a harmless teddy bear who likes porn; he's a straight up killer.


	7. Chapter 6: Demon of the Mist!

**Chapter 6**

**AN: **This update took awhile for a couple of reasons. I didn't get much of a response from the last chapter and that bummed me a bit. A bigger issue was the fight with Zabuza, I really didn't like how it turned out but here it is.

**Chapter 6:** Demon of the Mist!

Naruto watched his crush with baited breath. He was angry with his sensei for putting her through this. Sakura was being torn apart by the weight of her decision. Sakura took a deep breath. Before she could change her mind she pulled out a kunai and threw it at the helpless shinobi. The kunai sank into the soft flesh of Gozu's neck. Death took the shinobi and Sakura felt a chill cover her body.

Kakashi walked over to Sakura and gently cupped her face. "Good work shinobi." The word shinobi was said quietly yet forcefully. It imparted meaning that was not there before. Meaning that was not there prior to the taking of a life. Sakura stood proudly for a moment her chin lifted up. A sudden sickening sensation filled her.

'I'm proud? I'm proud I murdered someone in cold blood?'

Sakura turned away and ran 4 steps before heaving the contents of her stomach out. Naruto went to comfort her but Kakashi stopped him with a simple shake of his head. Sakura puked her guts out and then collapsed to her knees. Soft sobs filled the clearing.

Kakashi summoned Pakkun and gave him instructions to take a message back to Konoha. All three of his genin made no comment on the summon. The ninken was a bit miffed but saw the corpse and instantly knew that it had been someone's first kill. Pakkun just agreed to take the message and rushed off to the village hidden in the leaves.

The pink haired girl's cries finally stopped. She sniffed a few times and looked at her teammates. "I'm ready." They continued their journey to Nami no Kuni. Sasuke remarked to Naruto, "Are you sure you identified them correctly? They were weak and were chunin."

"Yup I'm sure they were on page 11. Maybe they got rusty?"

Kakashi interrupted their conversation, "Ranks don't mean everything. They may have become chunin based on their stealth abilities. At first I did not sense them, that means they had jonin level stealth skills. If it wasn't for their lack of knowledge of the weather here they would have been able to strike before I was ready." Kakashi gave a small shrug, "I probably would have survived but I could see it working on other jonin. And it would have been a piece of cake against a chunin or lower."

Their jonin sensei continued his lecture on rankings. "Luck also places a factor in chunin exams. Each village structures their exam in a different way. It wouldn't surprise me if the village hidden in the Mist focuses on stealth as a key to passing their chunin exams." Kakashi also warned them that rank could be deceptive. There was a genin within Konoha that was probably more powerful than any chunin servicing in the Leaf's shinobi force. Naruto asked, "Why hasn't he been promoted?"

"He has refused every promotion."

"Why?"

"He has his reasons but they aren't mine to share."

They camped at night. Kakashi personally set a number of traps as well as cast a Genjutsu over them to hide their presence. That done they also set up watches. On the first watch Sakura talked with Kakashi. "Kakashi-Sensei… does it get easier? Kakashi looked at her, his gaze steady with a hint of compassion in his single visible eye.

"Yes. Killing is something that gets easier over time. You will always remember your first kill but if you have a long and successful career as a shinobi it will become second nature." Sakura was chilled at the thought of being used to killing people.

"You kill for a reason, to finish the mission. Ultimately the mission is the security of Konoha. For your parents, you're future children, your teammates, fellow shinobi and those who cannot protect themselves. By killing your enemies you keep your village safe, you save lives."

Sakura looked like she wanted to say something but Kakashi continued. "Sakura, make no mistake the demon brothers were destined to die the minute they attacked us. The one we left behind for ANBU to pick up will be interrogated and then executed. If you hadn't killed him someone else would have. If you choose to quit the team and stop being a shinobi someone else will fill that role and blood will still be spilled."

The copy-nin 's gaze took on a harsher appearance. "A refusal to kill, to not be a shinobi does not lessen killing in the world. It only passes the burden on to someone else. Your squeamishness was a risk for team 7 and you will emerge from this stronger. You are strong enough to bear the burden so someone else doesn't need to. Take pride in that, you bear the sacrifice of the bloody hand so someone else doesn't need to."

Sakura thought about her sensei's words. His remarks were perfectly logical and they made sense. But some part of her soul fled from the cold logic that justified the dealing of death. The no longer innocent girl bowed her head, "There has to be a better way sensei." Kakashi sighed, "I wish there was Sakura but we live in a flawed world."

Kakashi then grinned despite of the somber mood. "But maybe when your teammate is Hokage he can bring the naïve dream that is peace to reality. After all he is the number one unpredictable ninja; maybe he'll just surprise us all." Kakashi's grin slowly vanished (not that anyone could really see it behind his mask) and his tone hardened. "Until that day comes I expect you to be a shinobi and kill as you are ordered to."

"Hai Kakashi-Sensei," Sakura responded.

'I'll be there for my team. I'll kill when I'm instructed. But there is a better way and this team is going to find it!' Sakura promised herself and when her watch came to an end she closed her eyes and went into a dreamless sleep.

*****BREAK*****

The night passed uneventfully. In the morning they continued their journey to Nami no Kuni. Before that occurred Kakashi had all of his genin remove their weights. Naruto complained at first but Kakashi harshly told them it was not up for discussion. "A jonin threat will be faster than you, a fraction of a second can save your lives, take them off." The three genin removed their weights and Kakashi sealed them in a scroll so it wouldn't weigh him down either.

Their trip was not just on foot they also had to travel via boat. All of them had mastered the water walking exercise but Tazuna was with them so they had to travel through conventional means. Team 7 arrived at the banks; their journey through the water had finished without incident.

Naruto suppressed his urge to be jumpy remembering Kakashi's earlier admonishment. Kakashi kept a wary out for any possible attack. No jonin should be underestimated. His wariness was awarded as he felt a disturbance coming from the left side. A giant blade spun horizontally heading straight for team 7.

Kakashi yelled out, "Contact," and then dashed forward, he carefully analyzed the spin of the blade and caught the handle, driving the momentum downward he buried the blade into the ground. Naruto instantly performed the Kage Bunshin and Sasuke opened his Sharingan.

Zabuza Momochi grunted, he had not expected Kakashi to catch Kubikiribocho. Zabuza knew going into this fight it was going to be difficult. Kakashi was one of the leaf's most powerful shinobi. But to have caught his own damn weapons like that? Kubikiribocho was not a light blade by any means, it has shocked him. Zabuza knew he had to be extremely careful when dealing with this opponent.

The missing-nin was surprised to see the jonin's team spring into action. The blond haired shrimp had made 30 clones and Momochi could tell that they were actual shadow clones as opposed to the regular variety. The shinobi was wearing bright kill me orange – surely he was a joke and not a threat. Once again Zabuza was surprised when the boy spoke in a clam and clear voice.

"Zabuza, jonin level threat, missing-nin from Kirigakure." Naruto's thoughts raced as he continued, "Favors close combat, one of the seven swordsman of the mist, skilled in the art of the silent kill. Water affinity." The boy's tone was quick and clipped but there was no hint of nerves.

Zabuza began to let his chakra flow into the air, creating a dense fog. Kakashi was on him in an instant before the mist could even come together a kunai was aimed at his heart. Zabuza was shocked at the speed; he quickly blocked the arm that was wielding the kunai. Kakashi's Sharingan eye saw the movement and was already lashing out with a taijutsu attack. Arms blurring with speed he overcame Zabuza's defenses easy and smashed his kunai through his chest. Zabuza dispersed into a pile of water.

The real Zabuza retrieved his blade. A tide of orange clones rushed at him, mixed in were images of Kakashi, the pink haired one and the dark haired boy. One swing of the blade demolished several of the clones. Much to Zabuza's annoyance however is that they hadn't come all at once meaning he had another wave right after the first.

The clones were a distraction not a serious threat but he could not afford to be distracted against an opponent of Kakashi's caliber. 'Tch he is these brat's instructor he'll want to save them and I can then get an opening.' As he thought this he had to deal with Kakashi rushing him again. The jonin was fast, faster the he was.

Zabuza swung at Kakashi and the leaf shinobi rolled underneath the attack. Momochi pressed forward kicking out as Kakashi completed the roll ready to strike. Kakashi instantly dodged to the right of his opponent, effectively side stepping away and lashing out with kunai. First blood went to Kakashi as the shallow cut scraped Zabuza.

Zabuza ignored the cut and pumped chakra into his feet and rushed the three genin and the bridge builder. He smashed through the Naruto clones like they weren't even there. Sasuke saw the jonin move with speed he couldn't hope to match. His eyes did see where the attack was coming from and met it with the signature move learned from childhood.

**"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu"** (Fire Release: Great Fireball technique)

In the same instant this was occurring Naruto summoned a fresh batch of shadow clones. Sakura saw her crush blur through the hand signs and added the same attack, but this one aimed above Sasuke's. This would limit Zabuza's possible options; he could not leap over Sasuke's attack.

The missing-nin snarled at the unexpected elemental attack. Genin typically did not learn chakra manipulation so early! He leapt left avoiding the burning attack however his forward momentum was stopped and Kakashi rushed him again. Zabuza swept Kubikiribocho in a great arc trying to force the jonin back. Kakashi stopped in his tracks and threw the kunai at his opponent's leg at point blank range.

Zabuza twisted his body to the side awkwardly trying to avoid the blow; even so it still grazed him. A Naruto clone hit him with a flying kick while he was off balance, Zabuza was pushed forward the blow and had to hastily block Kakashi's taijutsu assault. The man forced himself in close preventing Zabuza from effectively using the blade. Kakashi read every move Zabuza made was dominating him in the fight.

'Have to get to the water,' he desperately thought.

Zabuza had taken a blow to the ribs that made breathing slightly difficult but he had finally put some separation between him and masked shinobi. He hastily performed the substation jutsu without hand seals. The rabbit was ignored by Kakashi whose Sharingan eye instantly knew Zabuza was no longer there.

Zabuza rushed forward into the water and started to make a pair of water clones when Kakashi erupted underneath the surface of the water. As soon as his hand broke contact with the surface of the water Kakashi gathered chakra to form the Chidori. Zabuza was baffled at how the shinobi was waiting for him and how he avoided being sensed.

His bafflement didn't last long as the deadly lightning chakra slammed into him. Zabuza had already started turning when he heard the sound of disrupted water but he was unable to match the speed against the leaf shinobi. The Chidori slammed into his side, smashing up through his rib cage and turning his heart to pulp.

Kakashi had swapped with his clone after his initial clash with Zabuza. The water affinity would mean that the demon in the mist would want to retreat to the water it if he felt threatened. While it had been risky to depend on just a lone to pose a challenge it has been a calculated one. Zabuza was a dangerous shinobi but even without the Sharingan Kakashi was confident he could win the fight. With the Sharingan even his clone could hold his own and pose a threat. (**AN** – If a Naruto clone can start emitting chakra tails then I see no reason why a clone can't also use the Sharingan)

Team 7 was startled when another voice cried out. A shinobi in the clothing and mask of a hunter-nin burst from hiding shouting, "Zabuza!" A Naruto clone shouted out, "Unknown shinobi, garbed as Kirigakure hunter nin." Naruto had used a clone to do it, Kakashi had given him that tip, if the clones were already out have one of them say it instead of the original since opponents would assume the original was speaking.

Kakashi was surprised he had not sensed the additional shinobi in the area. Whoever it was had to be skilled in stealth and was therefore dangerous. The masked shinobi raced toward Zabuza. Kakashi created a water clone to intercept the shinobi. While the shinobi was dressed like a hunter-nin the reaction to Zabuza's death was out of character.

Naruto's clones followed his lead and swarmed the newcomer. Haku responded with senbon needles thrown with deadly force. His world had just been shattered, he had failed Zabuza and had nothing left to live for, death in battle would end his worthless existence. He didn't even try to use his kekkei genkai.

Haku wanted to die and Kakashi was taking no chances, the outcome was inevitable. In the first clash Kakashi rammed his Kunai through Zabuza's apprentice's skull. Haku had felt nothing more than a sharp pain before the kunai ended his short life. Kakashi peered out with his Sharingan looking to see if any more surprises were waiting to jump out.

Seeing none, all of team 7 searched the bodies and discussed what happened. Naruto asked his sensei, "I don't get it who was she?" The older shinobi corrected his pupil, "Actually it's a he." Naruto did a double take. "What?"

"Remember to see underneath the surface Naruto. Until you can reliably see underneath you cannot even begin to see underneath the underneath as a proper shinobi should." Kakashi continued, "As for why that is difficult to say. I would guess that Zabuza was important to this shinobi, based on age possible an apprentice or sibling though no siblings are listed in the bingo books. Based on the disguise I assume that if Zabuza got into trouble this one would come and try to save him. Because my attack killed Zabuza too quickly that didn't happen."

Sasuke turned off his Sharingan. This was his first taste of a true shinobi battle. The killer intent had been massive but having suffered through Kakashi's training as well as the fake assassination attempt by the 'Iwa nin' he had held up well. With his Sharingan he had been able to follow the swordsman every step of the way. He knew his body would not have been able to keep up so that was a humbling experience however he knew with the training he was receiving he would one day move at that level.

Sakura was happy she had fulfilled her promise, it was partly due to her attack that Zabuza had to move the way he did. As she analyzed the battle she realized that even without her attack the outcome would still have been the same it did allow the battle to end more quickly. As her sensei had repeated over and over, a shinobi was dangerous until he was dead.

Naruto had mixed feelings. He had fulfilled his role in the team by calling out the information on their opponents. His clones had been instrumental in distracting Zabuza. He had performed exactly the way his sensei had wanted him to. But he had not been satisfied. Naruto still had energy to burn, all he had done was make clones! Naruto had wanted to actually fight, to swing a punch or hit the enemy with a kick. It seemed vaguely cowardly to fight the way he had.

Kakashi was a master at reading people, even without his Sharingan active. "Naruto you and the rest of the team were excellent, what is the matter?" Naruto squinted, "I guess this isn't the way I imagined fighting the enemy."

"Good – being a shinobi isn't about honor or bravery it is about victory. You serve the village and not yourself or your idealized version of what it means to be ninja." Kakashi gave him an eye smile, "And you won't become Hokage if you die while still a genin."

Naruto perked up at the words, "Hai sensei! See Sakura? Kakashi thinks I can be Hokage!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, "You've gotten better but you still have a long way to go."

Naruto acknowledged her words, "You're right but I'll make it there one day. Believe it!"

Kakashi walked over to the body of Zabuza and cut off his head. "And as an added bonus we'll be able to collect the bounty for a Rank A missing in nin." Naruto blinked, he knew all the bounties in the bingo books. He was going to be rich! Sakura asked, "You did most of the work sensei, how are we going to split it?" Kakashi looked at his team, "We split it evenly. We are a team. Though, I do expect you to use at least some of the bounty on items useful to your career as a shinobi."

Two Naruto clones carried Kubikiribocho and walked with the rest of the team and Tazuna. The team was much more cheerful after hearing about the bounty. Tazuna also felt less guilty about the whole affair since at least the team would be compensated appropriately. He hoped there would be no more attacks before the bridge was complete.

**AN: **I really love reviews! What did you like? What didn't you like? Where do you want to see this go from here? Tips and advice from established authors would be awesome too!


	8. Chapter 7: Gato

**AN: ** THANK YOU for the kind reviews. They definitely motivated me! This is a relatively short chapter but I wanted to put something out before people started to get the wrong idea of what was going to happen.

**Chapter 7:** Gato

Tazuna led team 7 to his home. Kakashi's team met with Tazuna's family and learned of the sad fate of Kaiza, the hero that was executed by Gato's thugs. Naruto was enraged by the unfairness of the action. Sakura was also saddened by the story. When Inari stated that it was hopeless, that no one could defeat Gato it was Sasuke who shook his head.

"You are wrong. Gato is weak, he isn't even a shinobi. We defeated his hired shinobi on two occasions; if he messes with us he's dead."

Inari stormed off in tears not believing a word of it. Naruto looked to his sensei, "What is going to happen after we leave?" Kakashi preferred brutal honesty then sugared words. "Gato will either destroy the bridge or position thugs at one of end of it to collect a toll."

Tazuna stood up, "Gato will try but once the bridge is built they will see that we can stand up to Gato! They will fight him and his hired thugs."

"Doubtful," Kakashi mildly responded.

Tazuna quivered with rage, he had poured his heart and soul to building the great bridge. Many had thought he was a fool for doing so but he would succeed and no outsider shinobi was going to say otherwise!

Sakura stepped in, "Sensei, we have to help these people!"

Kakashi looked at her, "Our job is to protect the bridge builder, not assassinate business tycoons."

Tazuna stared at the jonin; his anger would do him no good. He collapsed into his chair and held his head in his hands. "Please… get rid of Gato for us!"

Kakashi ignored the impassioned plea, "That wasn't the mission you hired our village for."

"I'll add it to the mission!"

The Sharingan wielder shrugged, "That would need to be approved by the Hokage's office, and considering the financial state of the village I doubt you would be able to gather the necessary funds."

Naruto was furious, "So what! Gato needs to be taken out!"

The older shinobi looked at Naruto, "Does he now? Gato is no threat to Konoha there is no reason to take him out."

Sakura was moved by the village's plight and saw a way she could convince her sensei. "Kakashi-sensei, Gato is a threat to the mission. He will probably hire more shinobi, we don't know if any other missing-nin are nearby. If we take him out now it will cause our mission to be more likely to succeed."

Naruto looked at his crush with his eyes shining. 'Sakura is so smart,' he thought to himself.

Sasuke was mildly impressed and his respect for the pink haired kunoichi went up a notch.

Kakashi gave his cute genin an eye smile, "I didn't think you had learned your lesson so well Sakura." Sakura felt a chill pass through her. Just the other day she was vowing to find another way then killing and here she was urging the assassination of someone.

She shook her head, "There should be a better way! But you were right; we do live in a flawed world. And taking out Gato will make it better place. I want to do it, the team wants to do it and it will increase the chances of our mission being success!"

Kakashi looked at his team, "Are all of you in agreement?"

They all indicated their agreement.

He turned to the bridge builder, "We'll kill Gato for you Tazuna but in exchange when your land is back on its feet you'll give Konoha favored trade status." Tazuna nearly had tears in his eyes and he expressed his gratitude to the shinobi present.

Tazuna didn't have any official position but as the person who would build the bridge that connected the land and brought back prosperity he would be able to get it accomplished. While the land of waves was poor currently it could become an important if still minor trading partner with Konoha.

"Now is the time to act. Right now he Gato will have no one but thugs and maybe some disgraced samurai. With that being the only threat, I will let the three of you plan and carry out the operation."

While surprised the three genin were confident they could handle it.

"I will tag along in case this Gato fellow has another A ranked shinobi with him. Your mission parameters are to ensure Gato dies tonight, the method is up to you. What you do with Gato's men is up to you. I will be observing however I will cease helping beginning now."

Team 7 looked at each other and Naruto spoke up first, "Sakura-chan maybe you should come up with the plan? You're really smart and I bet you could make the best plan!" Sakura enjoyed being complimented even if it was from Naruto. Even before she joined the team it was nice to know that someone found her pretty and wanted to date her. Now that she had seen his work ethic and abilities she valued his opinion even more.

'If only Sasuke-kun thought of me that way…'

Sakura looked to Sasuke who simply inclined his head. Sakura began by finding out what they wanted to do. "Should we try to avoid killing his mercenaries?" Sasuke didn't care one way or the other and remained silent. Naruto looked up at Kakashi before looking back at Sakura. "I don't think we need to kill them. Maybe just scare them a bit."

Sakura liked the answer; she didn't want to kill anyone she didn't have to. "I guess the next question is who should be the one to do it?" Sasuke volunteered, "I'll do it." For once Naruto decided not to compete with his rival. Sakura was relieved she wouldn't be the one to do it. Even if Gato deserved death, even if it had to be done she didn't want to be the one to do it. She knew Kakashi would find her weak for thinking this but he had left them in charge and this is what the team had decided.

Sakura formulated a plan. "Gato may not know Zabuza is dead. Sasuke can Henge as Zabuza and I can Henge as his apprentice and we can go in as if we were going to report what happened. Naruto can make clones of people in the area and be ready to jump in if something is dangerous."

Naruto wanted to be closer to the action but he didn't want to undercut Sakura's plan.

"Hnn, it will do. We should go now, the longer we wait to report the more suspicious it will be." Sasuke's suggestion was practical and they were in agreement.

With the plan formed Sakura looked to the older leaf-nin for confirmation. Kakashi just shrugged his shoulders. He had said he wouldn't provide guidance and wouldn't interfere unless another high ranked shinobi appeared. Sakura swallowed thickly and put on her disguise while Sasuke did the same.

Naruto watched his two teammates head over to Gato's base of operations. He had 20 clones positioned around the area looking like civilians. He saw his teammates exchange words with some of the mercenaries guarding the front door. Whatever they said was enough to let them in. Naruto desperately wanted to know what was going on inside but kept his cool and observed.

Getting in had been easy for the two genin. Meeting Gato had been even easier. Gato had several mercenaries in the room include two guards who looked like they knew how to handle a blade.

"What am I paying you for? That bridge builder is still alive! I thought you were supposed to be the 'Demon in the Mist,' can't you do anything right?"" Sasuke smirked and activated his Sharingan. Without his weights he felt as light as a feather. His charge was noticed by the two guards who hastily tried to draw their blades in time to defend their master. Sasuke easily sped past them and jammed his Kunai into Gato's chest.

Pandemonium ensued. The two guards yelled out in rage and slashed at the Uchiha. Sasuke was disdainful at the slow telegraphed attacks. Maybe these two could bully civilians but not a trained shinobi. With his Sharingan it was even easier as he side stepped the blows. Sasuke knife palmed one in the throat and doubled over the other with a spinning heel kick. His elbow smashed into the back of the man's neck with brutal force taking him down.

Sakura jumped to the side and began using a Genjutsu on the remaining opponents. Sakura used the jutsu Kakashi had taught her. **Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu **(Demonic Illusion – Hell Viewing Technique). Of course unlike other jutsu she didn't shout out the name of the attack since it would have diminished its effectiveness. Sakura didn't know what the other mercenaries saw but evidently her jutsu was powerful enough to send them fleeing for their lives.

Naruto saw the men fleeing with fright. He and his clones bum rushed Gato's base to find both Sakura and Sasuke just fine. "You had me worried, they were terrified!" Sakura smiled, "It was just a simple Genjutsu, and almost any shinobi could have detected it." Sasuke retrieved his kunai from Gato's still warm body and walked out.

Team 7 went back to Tazuna and informed them of their success. Tazuna was amazed at how quickly it had occurred. They had left less than an hour ago! Tazuna didn't know about shinobi. He didn't know that even academy students could kill a grown man easily. Gato was cheap and so his hired help weren't skilled samurai who could hold their own with shinobi. Instead Gato favored cheap brutes who could intimate his victims. He would hire missing-nin and then turn on them when they were wounded or careless. If things ever went sour he just threw money at the problem.

Incredibly impressed with the results he told them they were more than welcome to stay at his home while the bridge was completed. They thanked the bridge builder and turned to Kakashi. Kakashi scratched his chin while the genin awaited his judgment of their plan and its execution.

"Not bad, not great but not bad."

It was faint praise from their sensei. Sakura asked, "What was wrong with it?"

"Against Gato and cheap thugs? Nothing really. Any plan would have worked. You used a basic jutsu to hide your appearance so you could get close and eliminate him. The direct approach worked in this case and minimized his chance to flee."

"Then what did we do wrong?" Naruto angrily remarked.

"You didn't anticipate any problems. You were arrogant, if he did have a shinobi hidden as a mercenary you wouldn't have known. Your approach was pure brute force."

Sakura asked, "How would you have done it?"

Kakashi answered, "There were plenty of ways to do it, there is no one right way but there are ways to minimize risk." Kakashi explained further, "For example Naruto could have used clones to Henge as Zabuza and his accomplice and do the same thing you two did. If there was unexpected shinobi resistance no one would be in danger of dying."

"Another option would have been to ambush Gato when he left his base. In that scenario it would be easier for you to retreat if necessary."

All three genin could see the value of what Kakashi was teaching them. While the outcome was never in doubt it would be a good idea to minimize risk whenever possible. Kakashi had told them in an earlier lesson that success on 99 missions didn't mean you wouldn't die on the 100th. Always minimize the odds of failure and death by approaching every mission with caution. Ego and arrogance led to death.

Naruto still had issues with how cowardly it felt to be thinking about minimizing his risk in every way possible. Kakashi had a sixth sense for picking out such thoughts.

"Naruto, we've had this discussion before. You owe it yourself, Konoha and most importantly your team to avoid dying. I am not asking you to be a coward – if a teammate is in danger I expect you to put your life on the line to save them. But don't take unnecessary chances, what if you took an unnecessary chance and your teammate rightly tried to save you? And then they become injured or even kill because of your arrogance?"

"Hai Kakashi-Sensei," Naruto replied. Naruto still didn't like it but he would treat it like eating vegetables. A necessary evil – but one that would ensure he could best protect his team and one day become Hokage so he could protect the entire village.

Kakashi had his team turn in for the night; he still had them set up watches. It was good practice for his team and it never hurt to be cautious. Before they did so he returned the weights to his team. All three of them eagerly put them on. All of them had already improved their strength and stamina through the use of the weights and wanted to continue to get stronger.

*****BREAK*****

The next morning they ate a delicious breakfast. The townsfolk greeted them eagerly. They were treated as heroes; they had ended the reign of Gato. Gato's thugs had fled the town that night. Not all of them knew what happened. Some claimed a monster had been unleashed, others claimed that shinobi had ripped people apart with their bare hands. Genjutsu meant that the stories were even more outlandish then what had actually happened.

At the bridge there was no shortage of volunteers to help. Kakashi also had Naruto make dozens of clones to help move supplies and materials. With the additional help and the clones Tazuna would be able to get the bridge finished ahead of schedule!

Kakashi continued to train his team while the bridge was constructed. His training was focused almost exclusively on taijutsu and team tactics. Sasuke was the undisputed champion in the sparring within the squad. His Sharingan allowed him to read moves through the tiny changes in muscles as someone prepared an attack. With the weights on both he and Naruto were at similar speeds. In addition to the Sharingan, Sasuke's taijutsu was simply superior to Naruto's.

However Naruto had more weight on then Sasuke. A fact that irked the Uchiha. How was the dead last able to surpass him? He had demanded Kakashi up the weights and Kakashi refused. "And don't even think about doing it yourself, you'll increase the chance of sprains and fractures by moving too quickly. If you exhaust your muscles you'll do more harm than good."

"Then how is he able to take all the extra weight?"

Kakashi gave him an eye smile, "That's a great question Sasuke. Naruto is able to heal faster than others, the reason for that is a secret. One that I am going to encourage Naruto to share, unfortunately it is not a technique that can be copied."

Sasuke's brain worked to solve what the secret was. He asked his sensei, "Is it a kekkei genkai like the Sharingan?" It was a reasonable guess. It would explain the greater healing ability and the need for keeping it a secret. Kakashi merely smiled beneath the mask and responded, "I've said all that I plan to on this Sasuke."

Sasuke wasn't happy but if it was a kekkei genkai then it didn't matter. It just meant he would have to work harder; he couldn't afford to let the class dobe surpass him. Sasuke was glad that Naruto wasn't weak; he would be someone he could measure himself against. And as Kakashi had pointed out early in their training having a strong team could only work to his benefit.

Naruto was better than Sakura in their spars. However Sakura becoming incredibly adept at avoiding blows. Facing the quick and brutally efficient Sasuke had taught her how to minimize her movements. Her blocks were precise and close to her body, if the attack was too strong she smoothly glided away. Without the weights Naruto could have finished her quickly but with them it was next to impossible to pin her down and win the bout. The only reason he would end up winning is when Sakura finally became too winded to move as fast as she could.

Within the week the bridge was complete and Tazuna thanked Kakashi and his team. Even Inari was smiling again. His grandpa was safe and the man who had murdered his surrogate father was killed. The strong killed the weak, that was life but his amazing granddad had found people stronger then Gato and his money. With a final wave team 7 began their return trip home.

**AN: **I didn't see a point in dragging it out. For the early chapters I'm going to avoid rehashing things that would have been the same. Everyone (should) know what happened in the Land of Waves, why spent thousands of words going over the story of what happened to the land before team 7 got there? I hope that makes sense to everyone and I'd love your feedback either way.


	9. Chapter 8: Reporting Home

**AN:** Thank you for all of the kind reviews!

**Chapter 8:** Reporting Home

The four shinobi of Konoha returned to their village quickly and without incident. Naruto couldn't wait to get the best ramen in town. As he was about to dash off Kakashi reminded him they had to report back at the Hokage tower first.

"Ahh but ramen!"

Kakashi's one visible eye twitched violently. Every time he thought he was making progress…

The three reported directly to the Hokage. Sarutobi had a pipe in his mouth as he saw team 7 enter to make their report. The first report had led to the mission being upgraded to a rank B mission. The 2nd report after the battle that led to the death of Zabuza turned it into an A ranked mission. Hiruzen had great confidence in Kakashi's abilities but really this was a bit much for a young genin team's first mission.

Kakashi made his report efficiently and effectively. The Hokage's eyebrows shot up at having the genin kill so quickly. He had wanted them to retain their innocence a little longer. He shook himself out of his thoughts as the elite jonin continued the debrief. When Kakashi finished the third Hokage smiled at the four shinobi.

"You've exceeded my expectations, well done."

Kakashi took the praise in stride while his genin team basked in it. Kakashi could tell even Sasuke was effected by the words, though he hid it well. Naruto's smile was an ear to ear grin. Sakura was more demure but she positively glowed at the praise from the village's legendary leader.

The Hokage dismissed everyone but Kakashi. Naruto invited the other two for ramen. Sasuke shrugged and agreed. Kakashi would expect him to be part of the team. With Sasuke going it made Sakura's choice a foregone conclusion. All three of the genin headed to Ramen Ichiraku. Hiruzen looked at Kakashi, "I understand you don't want it in writing that Sasuke has unlocked the Sharingan?"

"Hai, if no one knows Sasuke has developed the Sharingan he will be better protected. A live Sharingan can make him a target. Furthermore it always helps for a shinobi to be underestimated."

The Hokage chewed on his pipe in thought. "I'll keep it out of the written reports, I understand caution but only a few people have access to the reports. Sometimes your wariness is more like paranoia Kakashi-san. The masked jonin looked at the Hokage and replied with simple logic, "If I take precautions that aren't needed it is a minor inconvenience. But if I take precautions when it is needed it could make all the difference. Any edge no matter how small that will help them survive I will give them."

He couldn't find fault with the argument so he agreed to do as his jonin asked. The written copies of the report were different then what had been orally communicated. Most everything was the same but the Sharingan was absent completely as was any mention of the genin helping Kakashi deal with Zabuza. With a bow Kakashi left Sarutobi alone with his thoughts.

Kakashi took the pay for the mission and also turned in the sealing scroll that had Zabuza's head. Zabuza's blade was also given up but instead of using it as part of the bounty it would go to the care of Konoha where it would find a worthy wielder. Kakashi would split the money with his team in the next morning. For now… it was time to see if the latest Icha Icha had arrived while he was gone.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto was ecstatic! Not only was he finally getting his favorite food at Ramen Ichiraku but both of his teammates would be with him! Naruto introduced them to Teuchi and his daughter Ayame. Sasuke said little while Sakura introduced herself properly. Soon they were all eating delicious ramen, while neither was as enthusiastic as Naruto it was tasty and they enjoyed it.

After completing the ramen they went their separate ways. Naruto returned to his home. Since placing a few traps the home had not been vandalized. The fact that he was a shinobi now meant that he could legally assault someone for breaking into his residence. Naruto made a dozen clones that began reading books.

Naruto considered what he would like to with the money he would soon be receiving as his share of the bounty and the A ranked mission. His come use new furniture but Naruto honestly didn't care about that. He wanted to get stronger; he wanted to purchase something that would enhance his skills.

Kakashi had told him about "chakra blades" that would be very expensive but extremely useful for a wind affinity like himself. Naruto also thought about getting alternative weaponry. Most shinobi favored small weaponry that allowed for easy carrying and stowing so that hand signs could be used at a moment's notice.

He did like the thought of wielding a katana or a staff. From reading historical battles he knew his jiji used a staff in battle that he summoned. Naruto decided to go shopping at a weapons store and see what might be effective for him. He left his clones to continue their reading while he used his Henge to look like a non-descript teenage shinobi. That done he went into town avoiding all of the glares and hate he had been subjected to for most of his life. The young genin was still kicking himself for not thinking of this plan prior to Kakashi telling him.

Naruto found himself browsing a weapon shop. Like a kid in a candy store Naruto drooled over the potential additions to his shinobi arsenal. The shopkeeper allowed him to handle the various weapons and Naruto tried a few moves with each of them. Laughter interrupted once one of his practice strikes; he turned and found a young kunoichi shaking her head. "You are holding that katana all wrong!"

Naruto flushed thankful the Henge hid his embarrassment. "I never trained with any weapons other then the academy standard ones," he defended himself. Naruto recognized the girl; she was a fellow genin a year ahead of his graduating class. Her name was Tenten and she had a reputation for knowing her way around weapons. Naruto's clones had learned a lot just observing the village and this was one of the little facts that came to mind.

Tenten showed Naruto the proper way to hold the blade. Naruto had an idea, "Hey Tenten how about you some weapons and help me pick out something that will be useful for me!" Tenten looked at the shinobi she had never seen until now and asked, "Hmm I have my own training to do plus you haven't even introduced yourself. Who are you? "

Naruto considered lying but he suspected the keen eyed kunoichi would be able to detect the Henge and any falsehood. Instead he leaned in close, "I'm Naruto part of team 7, a lot of the shop owners don't like me so I use a Henge."

Tenten was surprised that Naruto was in disguise. Naruto had been held back so for a brief time he had actually been in Tenten's class. A subtle Naruto instead of a bright orange overly excitable Naruto sparked her curiosity. Tenten said, "All right… let's do this. I'll show you a variety of weapons for a couple of hours and you tell me what you've been up to these days." Naruto laughed, "All right! Let's head the practice field right now!"

Both of them left the shop and proceeded to the nearest training field. Along the way Naruto regaled Tenten with how awesome it was to be a shinobi. About how they went on their first mission outside of the village and how it had turned into a rank A mission. Naruto did manage to hold back anything related to his and his teammates training. While Tenten was clearly a fellow leaf shinobi Kakashi had warned him about sharing news about his abilities. Spies existed in the shinobi world and one never knew who was listening.

Tenten didn't ask about that anyhow. Instead she was fascinated by Zabuza's weapon, Kubikiribocho. Naruto didn't know why she was so obsessed with it but he answered all of the questions she had. He didn't really know much about the weapon, Kakashi had been the one to do nearly all of the battle in that conflict.

When they arrived at the practice field Tenten showed the jinchuuriki all types of weapons. Naruto was in awe at the arsenal she pulled out. Several of the weapons were not practical in his mind but she wielded them with a grace that was astounding. Tenten had him test out several of the weapons and adjusted his forms and grip as needed.

"Are you a close range fighter or do you prefer to stay in the back?" That was an interesting question. The immediate answer was a ranged fighter due to Kakashi's lessons. But Naruto had been working on looking underneath the surface. While Kakashi would want his team to stay back and minimize their risk, he expected Naruto to use his clones in close combat. Any weapon skill he learned could be transferrable to his clones.

Naruto answered her, "I'm in between, I don't mind getting in close though." Tenten frowned at the non answer but then shrugged. "In that case let's set you up with what you had in the store, a katana. It's straightforward but allows for a longer reach then a kunai but still allows combat in close quarters." They spent the last 30 minutes going through weapon drills. Naruto thanked Tenten profusely and declared, "With this extra training I'll have all I need to be the next Hokage!" Tenten rolled her eyes but accepted the thanks with good grace.

Naruto asked her if she knew any good books or scroll techniques he could pick up for using a katana. She named a book he could pick up that showed the basic stances and a generic fighting style. "Anything too far advanced is typically held secret by families or clans. Don't let that stop you though! Come up with your own style and your opponent will be in trouble because they won't have ever seen it before." Naruto again thanked her and returned to the shop to purchase a pair of katanas, having backup equipment was another rule that his sensei had drilled into him.

At the shop he also requested the chakra blades. Chakra blades were made of material that absorbed chakra and were rare. The store didn't have them but if Naruto paid for them up front he would order a pair of kunai made of the chakra absorbent material. Naruto would have to come back the next day to put in the order as Kakashi hadn't split the proceeds from the bounty yet. Naruto returned home excited about showing off his new weapon to the team tomorrow.

*****BREAK*****

Sakura had enjoyed the meal with the team. She loved her Sasuke-kun and Naruto wasn't nearly as annoying as he used to be. The team was starting to feel like a family and she wanted to do all she could to protect it. It was time to make a decision. Genjutsu or training in medical jutsu. Sakura made her decision based on what had happened in the battles they had been in.

Death was swift, death was often instantaneous. Haku died to a kunai to the brain. Zabuza died due to his heart being obliterated by Kakashi's Chidori. No medical jutsu could fix that. Threats to the team could be fatal before she even got a chance to heal. But what if she could prevent an attack from landing in the first place? What if she could use her superior chakra control to ensure her teammates didn't even get hit? With these thoughts in mind she chose her specialty, it would be in Genjutsu.

Genjutsu was a rare art in Konoha. The primary users had been the Uchiha clan through the use of their dojutsu. That path required the Sharingan, a clear dead end. The most famous Genjutsu user currently in the village was Kurenai Yuh. The problem was that she had her own genin team, and jonin instructors should put all of their efforts on improving their own team. That went double for the first year as a jonin.

Kakashi would absolutely train her but she knew that was not his specialty. Kakashi was a master at ninjutsu and an absolute terror with taijutsu but his Genjutsu was limited. Sakura would need someone else to help supplement her training in this if she was to develop it to the point where it could actually fool dangerous opponents.

Sakura decided to put her ear to the ground and see if she could find a jonin who was skilled with Genjutsu who could tutor her a couple of times a week. Between that and the training Kakashi would give her she should be able to make significant progress. Her share of the bounty would be used to pay for the lessons. Sakura felt a burst of energy inside of her. She had confidence in her choice; she was not going to be a liability to her team!

*****BREAK****

Team 7 met up again the next day. As was typical they quickly and efficiently completed a D ranked mission and then turned to training. Kakashi talked to them about what they would want to tackle next on their training agenda.

Kakashi was approving of Sakura's choice to specialize in Genjutsu. He told her to continue working to improve her taijutsu and conditioning with weights. On that subject he had purchased a new set of weights for all of them. These weights at first were incredibly light until they pushed Chakra into them. "These seals are designed to be only accessed by yourselves, only increase the weight when I advise you to but in a fight you can quickly release the excess weight. Additional when we travel too much weight and you'll snap tree limbs as you leap from branch to branch."

All three of the genin also had their weights increased. Kakashi created a pair of clones so he could have some one on one time with each of his students. The original went with Sasuke; he was going to teach the last Uchiha the original move he had created. The Chidori. Sasuke had seen it in action and knew it was a fantastic kill move; it would burst through most defensive barriers, especially earth which was often used for defense.

Kakashi cautioned Sasuke on the use of it. "Never use this on a comrade or a leaf shinobi. This jutsu should only be used on the enemies of Konoha." Sasuke promised to obey this command. Sasuke also learned his chakra reserve would only allow him to use it two times before being exhausted. "With constant training you should be able to increase the number of times you can use this jutsu to three fairly quickly."

With the aid of the Sharingan it was easy for Sasuke to pick up the jutsu and by the end of the day he had successfully performed the jutsu and slammed it into the earth leaving a crater. "Excellent work, now on to your taijutsu training." Sasuke pushed his groaning muscles the limit with the new chakra weights. He was still able to maintain the perfection that Kakashi required in taijutsu forms. He was determined not to fall behind Naruto with weights and speed.

With Sakura he taught her some more basic Genjutsu applications. Most Genjutsu operated on sight but a few operated on auditory senses. The auditory ones were extraordinarily rare but very effective since it meant the victim could be affected before even laying sight on the caster. "I don't have any auditory Genjutsu in my repertoire, it will be a long shot if your tutor has one either. Sight Genjutsu is still amazingly powerful. Remember on this team you don't necessarily need to isolate and control an individual for a significant length of time, as soon as the Genjutsu has them one of us should move to eliminate the threat instantly."

The clone with Naruto observed him use the katana. Naruto explained his reasoning as well as Kakashi looked on. "I need to get good with this so my clones can use it well. I'll still keep my hands free for using jutsu." Kakashi praised Naruto for the plan, "Good thinking Naruto, I'm glad you thought ahead of this. I'm also glad you are putting in the order for the chakra blades, with your wind affinity those chakra kunai will be devastating."

Kakashi also taught Naruto a new jutsu. "You are already familiar with **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). I am going to show you a modification of this technique." Naruto jumped in the air with excitement, a new jutsu! The clone's visible eye twitched. He doubted he would ever get used to Naruto's un-shinobi like behavior. He also doubted he could break him of the habit without breaking the boy completely down.

Kakashi clapped his palms together. **"Futon: Reppusho" **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) A burst of wind pushed out from around Kakashi in all directions. Naruto was shoved backward a dozen feet but landed agilely. "This attack unlike Daitoppa has a 360 degree arc. Using this will allow you to stop projectiles from all directions. You can also use it as a surprise in close quarters but it doesn't have the destructive potential of Daitoppa."

Naruto eagerly made a score of clones and began practicing. As always Kakashi was amazed at the sheer level of chakra Naruto had. Most shinobi, including himself had to be cautious of using too much ninjutsu. Naruto had just left the academy and had chakra reserves that surpassed most jonin. While hid started at pathetically abysmal levels, it had grown much better. The shadow clone technique had got Naruto's chakra control to appropriate levels in a fraction of the time it would otherwise have taken.

Overall Kakashi was very pleased with the progress of team 7. He didn't want to interrupt their training too much by tackling missions away from the village. However he did want them to have more exposure to real shinobi missions. For the next two days he would train them hard and he would scan the mission list for anything that was relatively close by that was a C or B rank.

Normally no genin would be going on B rankings but he knew he could convince the old man that his team could handle it. In all honesty any B rank would be a piece of cake for Kakashi to solo, his mission success rate on A missions was quite nearly flawless. Regardless of rank, the important part of the mission was that it be close to Konoha. It was difficult to train at the level he demanded his team to train at on the road.

As was typical Kakashi completed his own training after team 7 split. Kakashi practiced what he preached. He would place his own chakra weights and continue to hone his own body. He also liked to experiment with jutsu combinations and find new uses for them. After three hours of training he cooled down and drifted on to rest. Kakashi felt good about his team's progress and eagerly looked forward to see how his three genin would develop.

**AN: **A little bit of training in this arc. I won't spend as much time detailing training as I did earlier. I do want to put in place how and why they picked up certain skills. The next mission will be a brand new one outside of the anime. Remember team 7 has returned back from wave quicker because there was no recovery period and Naruto's clones helped build the bridge faster.


	10. Chapter 9: B Rank

**AN: **A little bit of filler that I've added. I'll warn you ahead of time nothing too terribly exciting happens I just wanted to showcase a little bit more of how Kakashi likes to operate. Obviously in fan fiction things happen differently than in the show however I am defining this as filler because the mission they go on doesn't have a larger impact on the overall story.

**Chapter 9:** B Rank

The next few days were marked by rigorous training. Naruto and Sasuke threw themselves into their training routine with a vigor that surprised even Kakashi. Both of them had felt that the mission to the Land of Waves had slowed down their training because they couldn't push themselves to exhaustion every day. With the weights on they would run miles, do hundreds of pushups, crunches and exhausting calisthenics. Their jutsu training wasn't slacking off either. Sasuke had the Chidori down perfectly and Naruto had mastered the **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm). Naruto could summon the chakra and race through the hand seals in under a second. Even blunt kunai that Kakashi threw at him at combat speed could be countered with the jutsu.

Sakura continued her conditioning but wasn't as crazed as the two boys were. Instead her focus was on Genjutsu. She drank up the additional training Kakashi had provided and she was close to pulling off the **Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu** (Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique). The C ranked jutsu was rarely used in combat but was often used as part of the security around a shinobi camp while they travelled. Kakashi had used the jutsu while the team had travelled to and from the Land of Waves as an extra security precaution.

Kakashi had poured over potential missions that were near Konoha. One particular one caught his eye. There was a rank C mission that had a group of bandits that had made their base only two days out from Konoha. What made the mission interesting was that the bandits had operated there for some time but only recently had become bold and actually attacking heavily armed caravans. The only reason it was listed as a rank C mission was because no shinobi had been identified as part of the band.

The jonin knew that something had to explain the bandit's new aggression. By scanning the other missions he gave it a high probability that a missing nin had joined the band. This missing nin wasn't foolish enough to use jutsu in combat and draw attention to himself. Kakashi reviewed the list of missing nin that had recently left their villages and identified a likely candidate.

A chunin level shinobi from Takigakure (Hidden Waterfall Village) was the most likely candidate. According to the most recent bingo book he was a skilled chunin possessing higher than average tactical talent. Tomonori did not have any documented elemental affinities or skill with ninjutsu. He was however quite skilled in taijutsu and kenjutsu.

Takigakure had a mission listed as a B rank, the return of Tomonori alive. Bringing him alive would be worth three times the paltry bounty that was currently listed for him. 'Interesting… could be several reasons for this ranging from a relative in a position of power or he has information that someone in Takigakure needs.' Team 7's goal would be to make the capture and wipe out the bandits completing a rank B and C mission at the same time.

Kakashi didn't particular care about the additional income but it would prove a solid lesson on being aware of what was happening. A simple C rank mission had led to Zabuza and now another C rank mission would lead to Tomonori, who was no Zabuza but would be much more dangerous than bandits.

Kakashi informed his team of the mission, both parts of it. Officially they were only going on a C ranked mission however Kakashi's instincts told him he would find the missing chunin with the bandits. He explained the reasoning to his team and they looked excited. Even Sakura was eager to get out there, the fact that they were to bring the chunin back alive was even better in her mind.

Bright and early the next morning team 7 was ready to go. They removed the chakra seals on their weights, Kakashi meant for them to travel light and fast. After leaving sight of Konoha they began racing through the trees. As was typical Naruto's clones surrounded their formation giving the team an added layer of security as they traveled at near top speed. The plan was to push as far as they could on the first day, allowing them to hit the bandits on the evening of the second day. Finding the bandits would be very simple. That many people made tracks in an area that everyone but Naruto would be able to locate. And even Naruto who had missed that lesson in the Academy could just flood the area with clones until the bandits were found.

That night Sakura helped with the camp's protections. She used **Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu** (Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique) to hide their presence. Kakashi gave her a nod of approval. "Very impressive Sakura, you captured all of the details perfectly. Most chunin don't make their Genjutsu techniques that flawless. Kakashi of course was thinking of the chunin exam trick on the wrong floor to weed out genin who weren't ready. That Genjutsu was not nearly as detailed as the one Sakura had just completed. Sakura beamed at the compliment, proud that she was useful to her team. It was even nicer that Sasuke-kun was in ear shot when Kakashi had recognized her.

The night passed without incident and with team 7's speed they were able to get to the bandit infested area by noon. Kakashi was the first to spot the tracks of a large group and he had his team follow. Soon enough they spotted the bandits camped in the distant. Based on the number of tents the band numbered about seventy to eighty criminals. Kakashi told Sasuke to use his Sharingan to see if he could spot their quarry. Sasuke took a careful look and then whispered to the team, "I didn't spot him but one of the tents has a Genjutsu over it, I'm betting that's where Tomonori is."

"All right Sasuke, you know the mission parameters. Kill or capture the majority of the bandits and capture the waterfall missing nin alive. You make the plan and we will execute." Sasuke didn't see this mission as too difficult however he knew Kakashi would be testing him. Sasuke would have loved to test himself against Tomonori but that wasn't how Kakashi liked to do things. He wanted the mission completed with minimal risk.

"Here is the plan. Kakashi you have the best stealth abilities, you'll sneak a clone into the camp and wait for us to make our move. Naruto you'll flood the area with about 50 clones. Make sure they stay far enough away not to draw attention, in 10 we'll let the clones charge out. Then the four of us will advance and eliminate any pockets of strong resistance." Kakashi gave Sasuke an eye smile, the plan was exactly what he wanted Sasuke to do. He was under no illusions that this was Sasuke's preferred way of doing things but he would settle for his acquiescence.

Naruto made the required number of clones and they began to fan out. As of yet the bandit camp had not been alerted of the imminent attack. The Kakashi clone easily slipped into the camp and waited by the tent with the Genjutsu on it. The attack began with a tide of orange katana wielding Naruto's screaming their heads off. The bandits were shocked but quickly drew weapons. Blades, spears and a few bows were their primary weapons.

Bandits were often made up of failed genin. Some were dropouts from the academy. Others were disgraced samurai or just village toughs. The failed genin were perhaps the most dangerous but disgraced samurai depending on their skill with the blade could also pose a challenge. It became immediately clear to team 7 however that the majority were trash.

Most of the bandits never even got a blow in. The Naruto clones had almost as much speed and skill as the original. And despite being new to the blade he was simply _faster_ than his opponents. A perfectly executed cross cut could be dodged before the blade even came close. The counter attack by the Naruto clone would either be a fatal stab, slice or a non-fatal bludgeoning with the hilt to the head. There were however a few isolated areas of resistance. One area had a samurai who wielded his blade with enough skill and speed to dissipate a clone. Naruto pointed him out and team 7 literally blew him away with their jutsu combination. Sasuke and Naruto's wind/fire combo actually popped a half dozen more clones but ended the samurai's disgraced existence in a fiery explosion.

Meanwhile the Kakashi clone saw its prey exit the tent. The clone sprung out at top speed. To Tomonori's credit he actually blocked the first attack with a hasty draw of his blade. He instantly used the substitution jutsu to get away but the Sharingan saw it all. Kakashi instantly used the body flicker technique to stay right on top of the chunin. Tomonori slashed with impressive speed and strength but it was to no avail. The attack was parried with a kunai and then Kakashi was on him. He grasped the waterfall nin's neck and applied pressure to the carotid artery. Tomonori knew he only had moments before he lost consciousness. His struggles were in vain and soon he collapsed unconscious.

The rest of the bandits broke and fled, scattering in all directions. They ran headlong into the Naruto clones that had circled the camp. A few escaped but the vast majority were killed or incapacitate. After everything was taken care of they had a band of prisoners they would need to march to the local police force. They kept Tomonori unconscious with a mild coma inducing poison that Kakashi had concocted.

Sakura asked if they would be going to Takigakure to drop off the missing chunin. Kakashi shook his head, "Negative, the mission was originated from there but drop off points included our village since we are allied with them. I don't intend to take you to any of the other villages right now. Even if we are at peace right now it doesn't mean there aren't shinobi spying on each other. We believe we know who watches Konoha but our intelligence is limited with Takigakure."

They team accepted this and proceeded to drop off their prisoners and then return home to Konoha. That evening Naruto had difficulties sleeping. The deaths of the bandits were necessary and it was done in the heat of battle but the sheer number… and the burnt bodies afterwards... Just thinking about it made him nauseous. Kakashi saw the boy's inner turmoil and addressed it.

"You know what you did was necessary."

"Hai Kakashi-sensei but I can't get it out of my head. The attack me and Sasuke hit them with… it burned them so badly. I remember when you first showed us the attack I was so excited to use it in a real battle. Now that I have… I almost wish I never learned it."

Kakashi let the boy's words hang in the air.

Naruto punched the ground. "Why do I feel this way? They were murderers and scum, they deserved what they got! They killed people, they tried to kill us, what we did was good!"

The elite jonin thought about his words and then answered, "You're human Naruto. You have compassion for other people. As long as it doesn't interfere with your missions, that's fine. Like I told Sakura, it gets easier just make sure that you never come to enjoy the killing."

Naruto had a shocked look on his face, "Who could enjoy that?"

Kakashi grunted, "You'd be surprised. What we do puts strain our minds, it affects people in different ways. Some turn to drink to suppress their memories. Others cease to care about anyone not from their village. Others revel in the power they have. Some say a good shinobi have no emotions, I disagree. Emotional decision making on the battle field is foolish but to be without emotions is to cease to be human."

Naruto wrapped his arms around his own shoulders and shivered. Naruto had wished to deaden his feelings when he thought about the burning agony he inflicted on his enemies. But the way Kakashi said the word human resonated with him. If he stopped feeling, stopped caring would he become the demon the villagers thought he was? Naruto dug into the core of his being and pulled out the determination and never give up attitude that defined him.

"I won't lose my emotions Kakashi-sensei! But I won't quit either; I'm going to be the next Hokage!"

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. Naruto was going to be just fine. Both he and Sakura were accepting of the harsh reality that was shinobi life. You killed people. He wasn't concerned about Sasuke. Sasuke had experienced death up close and personal when his entire clan was massacred. The deaths of others would not bother him unless he had a close bond. Kakashi considered this an actual asset to shinobi life… as long he did form those close bonds with the team.

Kakashi wasn't a fool. He knew Sasuke was doing what he wanted in order to get more training and not out of his own personal desire. Going to the ramen stand with his teammates was just a way for Sasuke to show he was willing to play ball. Kakashi was willing to give it time but he was also in quandary. The quickest way to form close bonds it to truly depend on the team. Sasuke needed to save his teammates in battle; he needed his comrades to save Sasuke. That is how lifelong bonds of friendship and trust were forged between shinobi. However Kakashi was unwilling to put their lives as risk as this early juncture. The more often someone's life was as risk the more likely they were to die, a fairly straightforward perspective. Kakashi's goal was to bring that chance to as close to nil as possible. One day Kakashi would not be able to watch over them during a mission, one day they would have to face threats that would demand Kakashi's full attention but he needed them trained up before he would allow those risks to occur. It was dilemma with no immediate cure.

The journey home was quick and team 7 was praised for their good work. Kakashi did not include in the mission report that team 7 knew they were completing a B ranked mission ahead of time. He also left out the elemental jutsus his team used. He did verbally inform the third Hokage of all the actual details. Hiruzen wasn't pleased that Kakashi had sent his team out on a probable B ranked mission but considering how it turned out there really wasn't much of at risk with Kakashi personally handling the chunin.

Team 7 now officially had over a dozen D ranked missions under their belts, 1 C ranked mission 1 B ranked mission and 1 A ranked mission. For a fresh genin team that was rather unorthodox. Granted both times they had officially set off on C ranked missions. One had remained a C rank mission that was done in tandem with the Rank B retrieval mission. The other C ranked mission was removed as a C rank and made an A rank due to Zabuza's presence.

With his team safely back within Konoha it was time for… even more training! Kakashi would keep his team within the village for the next two weeks for some heavy training. The paths for each of the genin were laid out in his mind. Naruto would improve his blade work while continuing to rapidly increase his weight to maximize his speed and strength. While he pushed his body to its limit over and over again each day his clones would be working to refine his chakra control even further.

Sakura was to master at least one combat worthy Genjutsu. **Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu**. (Demonic Illusion – Hell Viewing Technique) was not useful against shinobi, though it was handy against non shinobi threats. 'And for testing fresh out of the academy genins,' Kakashi wryly thought. Once Sakura mastered strong Genjutsu his team could easily and quickly take out threats. If she could hold the enemy in the Genjutsu for just a couple of seconds the kill could be delivered with the fire/air jutsu combination or even a close in Chidori from Sasuke. Beyond the Genjutsu focus Sakura would also work on improving her taijutsu. No one expected a Genjutsu user to fight well in hand to hand, while she would never be as good as Naruto or Sasuke it was still a needed skill for her.

Sasuke now had enough chakra to successfully use the Shadow Clone technique though he would only be able to create one clone and the life span was short. It would never be the training technique for him as it was for Naruto however Kakashi wanted Sasuke to use it in combat. Being able to deliver a front line attack with a clone while you stayed back was just common sense in Kakashi's book. It would also be a good training tool in the fact the Sasuke clone could watch Sasuke spar and then when it dissipated Sasuke would be able to reflect on how he performed from his own perspective. Kakashi would also be training Sasuke's body hard. The Sharingan allowed Sasuke to see jonin level movement easily now his body just needed to keep up with his eyes.

Plan in place for his three genin Kakashi decided to enjoy a few rounds with some of his former comrades in ANBU. He wasn't particularly close to any of them but they had served together doing the most treacherous and dangerous missions. While they couldn't go into details they could certainly enjoy the quiet (and not so quiet depending on who was there) companionship.

**AN: **Nothing too terribly exciting – a MAJOR divergent point is going to occur soon. I have a feeling that many people won't like what I decide to have happen with the chunin exams but please stick around! As always I LOVE reviews.


	11. Chapter 10: Chunin Exams

**AN: ** This might disappoint some of you but I hope you stick with the story!

**Chapter 10:** Chunin Exams!

The jonin of team 7 was impressed with his charge's progress. In the two weeks since returning from their 2nd mission outside of the walls of Konoha they had met the goals of the two week training he designed. Naruto's skill with the blade was now passable. While not truly impressive, it was all that was needed to still be frighteningly effective. Without his weights he simply moved with enough speed that even when faced with someone with greater skill he would have the advantage purely from speed.

Kakashi was under no illusion that Naruto could handle a jonin weapon master but he would put his money on Naruto to defeat most chunin in a kenjutsu duel. That was before he abused the Kage Bunshin to create a swarm of viciously fast katana wielding clones. Naruto's chakra control had continued to improve through his clones. 'He is an impressive shinobi. I can only imagine at what level he would have been if he hadn't been stunted through malnourishment and neglect all his life.'

Sasuke had mastered the shadow clone technique and the insight the clone provided him after watching him spar was quite beneficial. The young genius rarely made mistakes as it is but now he corrected them after every spar. Sasuke still lacked the speed to keep up with his eyes but one couldn't expect to become an A ranked shinobi in just a month or two. The steady improvement was sufficient.

Sakura lacked a Jinchuriki's massive chakra or the incredible powers of a dojutsu but she was still progressing into a fine shinobi. Despite the massively unfair advantage Sasuke's Sharingan gave him he actually had to work to pin Sakura down. Her taijutsu movements were fluid and constantly shifting away from the fight at odd angles. Sakura was also becoming effective with using simple tricks at gaining distance. The pink haired genin used makibishi, Kawarimi and natural agility to avoid Sasuke for several minutes in one spar much to the raven haired boy's frustration.

Her chief achievement however was the mastery of a Genjutsu that could distract or even capture a trained shinobi. The Genjutsu masked itself as a Raiton element attack. His student would flash through hand seals and shout **Raiton: Mahi **(Lighting Release: Paralysis). At that point lightning would appear to surround her opponent sending electric shocks that caused their muscles to spasm and hold them in place. In actuality it was **Magen: Genkaku Mahi** (Demonic Illusion: Illusionary Paralysis) a surprisingly effective Genjutsu.

Kakashi had laughed when Naruto was first caught in the Genjutsu. In between his faux screams of pain (the illusion created some pain but not to the extent he had been screaming) he had yelled, "What!? Sakura has two different elemental jutsu, I want to learn too!" All the while he was completely paralyzed and Sakura just had to tap him on the base of his neck with her kunai to win the spar. At the time it was humorous but shortly thereafter he realized Naruto needed work on escaping Genjutsu. Kakashi had spent some time with him learning the Kai release process. With his chakra reserves all but the most dangerous Genjutsu should be disrupted. Of course the problem with Genjutsu was realizing you were under it in the first place, which mean Naruto still had a ways to go. On the positive side Sakura's illusion was nearly perfect; she used the hand signs for an existing Raiton jutsu but turned it into a Genjutsu. Only someone very skilled with chakra detection would be able to determine she was not changing the chakra nature to lightning. Alternatively they could counter the perceived lighting attack with their own jutsu, when their attack failed to do anything it might tip them off that they were under a Genjutsu. While it wasn't perfect it was a potentially lethal surprise, and with the speed Naruto and Sasuke had as well as the power of their combined jutsu it was precisely the sort of jutsu that filled the needed support role in team 7.

Kakashi thought about his team as he reported to the Hokage tower. He knew what the meeting was about. It was time for the semi-annual Chunin exams. His team was already chunin in terms of raw taijutsu and ninjutsu abilities. While they lacked experience their team work was quite formidable. While he wouldn't want his team to face a team of seasoned chunin from an opposing village in the field three on three, he wouldn't have bet against the three genin.

Several of the other jonin were there before Kakashi but he was not late. The last jonin instructor arrived and the Sandaime Hokage made his announcement. In seven days the chunin exams would be hosted. Genin from several villages would compete for the chunin rank. The Hokage ticked off the villages, "Sunagakure (Sand), Amegakure (Rain), Takigakure (Waterfall), Kusagakure (Grass) and even a team from a newly founded village, Otogakure (Sound). Kakashi kept a broad knowledge base of the hidden villages but had not yet heard of Otogakure. 'They must be extremely new then,' Kakashi thought.

The Hokage then asked which jonin sensei's were going to recommend their team take the chunin exams. The jonin instructors began to declare their teams ready. Gai enthusiastically proclaimed his team was ready and that the team would impress everyone with the power of youth. When it came down to the rookie nine Asuma spoke first. "My team needs to get some motivation," he took a puff from his cigarette and continued; "Team 10 is in." There was some surprise at the announcement; most jonin did not have their teams participate at the first possible chance after graduating from the academy.

Kurenai looked at Kakashi who was silent and unreadable behind his mask. She wasn't sure if her team was fully ready but their teamwork was excellent. With the way the chunin exams were going to be set up this year a tracker team would have a distinct advantage in navigating the Forest of Death. Seeing that Kakashi was waiting for her answer she spoke up, "Team 8 will participate." More murmurings could be heard. All eyes then turned to Kakashi.

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders, "It's too early for my team, team 7 will not compete." The Hokage almost dropped his pipe. Gai looked at his rival; he was surprised and a bit disappointed as he would have loved to see his genin compete with Kakashi's. Iruka loudly stated, "Finally a jonin with some sense. What are you two thinking putting your teams through the chunin exams so soon?" Asuma chuckled, "It will be a good test for the team." Iruka shook his head and made to speak up again but Kakashi interjected, "Iruka they are no longer your students, they are our soldiers it is not your place to challenge this decision." Iruka subsided and the Hokage dismissed everyone except for Kakashi.

Kakashi waited and Hiruzen sighed heavily and asked just one question. "Why?" The son of the white fang responded, "I see no need for my team to be promoted to chunin. I have no desire for additional leadership responsibilities to be given to them at this time. This team will be a combat team and should stay together for several years. Being chunin won't change anything for them so why should I disrupt their training regime for a meaningless title?"

Sarutobi muttered, "The council won't see it that way. They will question your ability to train. No one with any sense can doubt your combat prowess but they will claim you are not capable of being an effective sensei." Kakashi was not moved by that argument. "You are the Hokage; you have final authority on the shinobi force disposition. The council cannot and will not remove me as the team 7 jonin."

"They can make things difficult Kakashi. Do you not think this would be a good opportunity for your team to prove themselves out from under your shadow?" Kakashi shook his head, "They will have plenty more opportunities in the future. I also don't want anyone to realize the potential threat Naruto and Sasuke are. A spectacle in front of an audience may lead to attacks to nip their budding potential. While I am confident in my abilities to keep them safe I cannot be with them at all times." The third Hokage sighed; a headache was already beginning to form at the thought of meeting with an angry council demanding the last Uchiha participate.

"Very well Kakashi, I will not override your decision." Kakashi bowed respectfully, "Thank you Hokage-Sama." Sarutobi nursed his pipe, it would have been better if none of the rookie nine had participated. But with team's 8 and 10 selected for the chunin exam the council may very well riot.

'I hope you know what you are doing Kakashi.'

*****BREAK*****

Team Gaara had arrived in Konohagakure early for the chunin exams. Gaara had to suppress the bloodlust flowing through him. He longed to kill in the name of his mother, to prove his existence against blood that was worthy. But he had to wait. The waiting filled him with rage but outwardly his appearance never changed. His siblings were wary of him for good reason; he was Gaara the jinchuuriki of Sunagakure.

The Naruto clone that was currently under a Henge to look like a villager saw the three Suna nin. The three looked competent and moved with the practiced ease of an experienced shinobi. The one with the red hair sent a shiver down its spine. There was something very off about him, Naruto was by no means an expert in reading people but he had two clones just wander and observe shinobi and villagers each day. He started to pick up people's mannerisms, the way they looked when they were lying or when they were scared or angry.

What he was picking up here was quite odd. The two taller siblings were very wary about their red haired leader. Wary wasn't quite the word either. More like outright terror that they had learned to live with. The Naruto clone decided to follow for a bit. Naruto wasn't highly skilled at stealth but he had picked up a number of tricks from his sensei. This meant it was a surprise when the red haired boy stopped and turned looking directly at him. Sand flowed around him and his voice was low and direct, "Why are you following me?"

The disguise was that of a civilian villager, the clone responded saying, "You look new in town I was curious." Gaara merely responded, "Stop or I will kill you." The threat was made so matter of fact that it stunned the clone. An outside shinobi threatening a Konoha citizen with death for being curious? Naruto decided not to press the issue but would report it to Kakashi when he dispelled.

*****BREAK*****

Ino was irritated with her one time friend and now rival. Though her opinion of Sasuke was damaged she had rationalized that maybe he had been in a bad mood that day. Having to get stuck with Naruto and the forehead would drive even the kindest of souls to distraction. The reason she was irritated with Sakura was because Sakura still hadn't come home! The sun was already setting and she wanted to find out if team 7 was also going to be in the chunin exams.

'Where could she be?'

Just when Ino was about ready to give up and head home herself she saw the pink haired kunoichi turn toward her home. Ino huffed and crossed her arms and said, "Where have you been?" Sakura was a bit taken aback by the sudden question. She hadn't agreed to meet with Ino today so why was she blaming her? "I was training, why?"

Ino looked surprised. "Training? This late in the day?" Sakura nodded, "I want to get better and be useful to my Sasuke-kun." Ino gave a condescending laugh, "_My_ Sasuke-kun doesn't need any help from you!" Sakura rolled her eyes, "Why are you here anyway?" Ino huffed again and said, "I just wanted to see if your team is also going to be part of the chunin exams."

Sakura shook her head, "Chunin exams? Kakashi-sensei hasn't told us anything about that. Wait, are you saying your team is going to participate?" Ino stood a little bit straighter, "We sure are! I guess you and Naruto are dragging down Sasuke-kun so badly your sensei didn't nominate you." She sighed dramatically, "I feel so awful for Sasuke, having to put up with you two."

Sakura had the urge to kick her friend in her haughty face. "You don't know anything Ino, just go." Ino had not wanted to start a fight; she had secretly hoped that team 7 would also be in the exams. At that point there was no easy way to save face so she just harrumphed and stalked off. 'That didn't go very well. I really shouldn't have been so mad that she made me wait; she didn't even know I was coming. Oh well.'

Sakura had gained some perspective and to be honest she had missed her friend. Kakashi-sensei taught his students to see underneath and then look underneath the underneath. That type of dedication and awareness to one's surroundings had made one thing painfully clear to Sakura.

Sasuke hated fan girls.

The way she and Ino had acted had filled the boy with contempt for them not love. And the way they competed with each other had driven in a wedge between her and Ino, her first friend. At the moment Sakura was too tired to even think about it. She just wanted to eat and collapse asleep. Her training kept intensifying more and more and she knew despite all of her hard work her two teammates were pushing themselves even harder. 'I will be strong, not just for my Sasuke-kun but for Naruto and everyone in the village.'

*****BREAK*****

Team 7 met the following morning. Naruto immediately reported the strange genin from Suna to Kakashi. Kakashi was a bit surprised, "He actually threatened to murder you in broad daylight if you kept following him?" Naruto nodded. Kakashi had a few theories on this. Either the boy was braggart who was all bark and no bite, a borderline psychopath or extremely powerful beyond that of most genin.

"Good work Naruto, I'll make sure we keep eyes on him while in the village. Security has been increased due to the exams so the ANBU forces are a bit stretched but it will be doable. I'll also see if I can dig up any information on him and his team." Sasuke had not realized the chunin exams were here, he had focused solely on his training and had for the most part ignored events occurring in the village.

"Are we going to be competing in the chunin exams Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke kept an even tone but he longed to participate. The training surpassed his expectations but he had a strong desire to fight without being babysat by his sensei. Kakashi looked at Sasuke and asked, "What do you think?"

Sasuke took the challenge for what it was and replied, "Yes we are ready." Kakashi just looked at Sasuke impassively. Sasuke was shinobi trained he didn't fidget but he was uncomfortable by Kakashi's flat look. Kakashi allowed the silence to drag on for a minute before he finally replied, "Tell me what you really think."

"Hnn, my actual guess is that we aren't, all part of your plan to have us be underneath any notice," Sasuke finished in a frustrated tone.

Kakashi condescendingly clapped his hands. "The logic is simple to follow Sasuke, by following through with my plan you are better positioned to avenge your family and rebuild your clan. And yet you are still angry with the decision. Explain yourself shinobi."

Sasuke forced himself to keep a respectful tone, "I have no way of knowing how I compare to others! I need to know I am the best because if I'm not I need to find out how I can be the best otherwise I'll never do what I need to!"

Kakashi scratched his mask as he answers, "Hmm so comparing yourself to the weakest of the shinobi ranks will determine if your skills are where they need to be?"

"Hnn, quit twisting my words! I need to prove myself!" Sasuke's respectful tone had left rather swiftly.

Sakura was concerned at the heat coming from her Sasuke-kun's voice. He was angry and his frustration was boiling over.

"You don't need to do anything Sasuke. You are a solider under my command. You have been a shinobi of this village for less than 6 months. Do you think this is the only opportunity you will receive? You want to compete because of your pride, not because you have coldly analyzed the advantages and negatives for competing."

Sasuke wanted to retort but Kakashi held up his hand.

"It is that kind of thinking that makes me certain you are not ready for the chunin exams. Yes this team would probably crush all of the other genin teams out there. So what? Being a chunin is more than just your ability to fight it is also about making the right decisions. You are allowing your pride and emotions to cloud your judgment; you aren't ready to become a chunin."

Sasuke forced himself to calm down. Kakashi was always testing him; if he blew up at him he would just be validating Kakashi's decision. A shinobi did not yell at his superior. Sasuke took in a deep breath. "Thank you for clarifying your decision, I see that you are correct and I respect your decision." Kakashi moved with every ounce of his speed. If Sasuke had his Sharingan active he would be able to see the movement but even then it was doubtful he could have stopped the blow.

Kakashi slammed his fist into Sasuke's stomach driving the wind completely out of him. He lifted the genin off the ground with the blow and then while the boy was still in mid air he hit him with a spinning heel kick that sent Sasuke crashing into a tree. Sasuke gasped like a fish for air, he crumpled toward the ground only to be caught by Kakashi by the front of his shirt. Kakashi pinned him to the tree and fixed him a one eyed glare.

"I told you not to lie to me Sasuke. On our very first day of training I told you not to put up a false front, disagree with me if you like but do not attempt to deceive me. You don't respect my decision I can sense your deception even before you spoke."

Sakura gasped at the harsh treatment Sasuke-kun was receiving. However she knew interfering would only embarrass him and solve nothing. Naruto kept his expression even and did his best to avoid moving at all. Sasuke got his breathing under control, "What do you want from me then?"

Kakashi released him and backed up giving the boy some space. "I want your honesty as well as the appropriate level of respect. I don't expect you to agree with my decisions if you disagree with them. I would have accepted something as simple as "I disagree sensei and will do my best to prove myself in the next six months." Kakashi paused, "Instead you choose to lie and pretend I had convinced you of my decision. I am here to train your chakra, body and mind. Do not parrot words you think I want to hear, state your case cleanly and respectful but never lie to me or your team."

Sasuke was angry at himself now. Kakashi had warned him about this before. He was only worsening his position, the decision had already been finalized all he had done was earn the ire of the person best suited to train him. "I apologize Kakashi-sensei; I should not have lied to you." Kakashi turned to the other two, "And what about you two, what are your thoughts on not being able to compete in the chunin exams?"

Naruto answered first. "I'm disappointed Kakashi-sensei, I see the value in keeping strength hidden but it's hard to see my classmates compete while I'm stuck on the sideline." Sakura chimed in, "I think I need more training anyway. Naruto and Sasuke are ahead of me and I'd probably ruin their chances against the experienced teams anyway." Naruto responded, "No way Sakura-chan! That's not how a team works, you play a support role – it's not expected for you to go toe to toe with the front line components of the team."

The three shinobi stared at Naruto. Naruto rubbed the back of head sheepishly, "Um what? I read it in two different books on the appropriate roles for a combat team. This team has three ninjutsu/taijutsu specialists; a fourth wouldn't add any synergy. Having a Genjutsu specialist is even better then another front line fighter! I can show you the book if you don't believe me!"

Kakashi couldn't help but laugh, "Naruto its fine, thank you for supporting your teammate. Sakura I have no doubts this team could handle the chunin exams but by doing so everyone would see the team's abilities. That is my concern." Seeing that the team needed some cheering up he said, "Since you are not in the chunin exams that gives us time to do a C ranked mission." That did brighten the team's disposition as their sensei began to explain what they would be doing.

*****BREAK*****

Hinata Hyuga was nervous. Her team had entered the chunin exams and she did not want to let Kiba and Shino down. The test in front of her scared her; they would pass and fail as a team. Thankfully her dojutsu was perfect for this type of exam. She located someone confidently writing answers and copied them with her Byakugan. She had already finished the nine questions on the exam and that left her time to think.

She had not seen Naruto-kun in the exam area. 'That must mean Naruto's team was not selected for the chunin exams! If they aren't ready how am I ready? All of the genin in here are older and wiser than us. I know Kiba and Shino have worked very hard but I'm going to bring them down!' Hinata was working herself up to greater heights of worry and anxiety as the minutes of the exam trickled down.

Ibiki Morino then introduced the 10th question. Hinata gasped. If she got the last answer wrong Kiba and Shino could never become chunin! As long as someone wrote the answer down she would just copy it but what if it was different? This question was a curveball maybe there was another twist. Maybe each person had a different question that was given to them. Hinata was sure that Shino would pass but she also worried about Kiba who didn't have a skill to help him copy answers like she and Shino did.

'And even if we all answer the question correctly I'm still way out of my league here. I can't ruin Kiba and Shino's careers; I have to raise my hand!' Perhaps if there had been someone to distract her from these thoughts in the exam room things would have gone differently. But without that distraction… Hinata raised her hand and her team was dismissed.

Shino inclined his head toward Hinata, while disappointed he knew she had acted based on a desire to help her team. Kiba was not so understanding. Kiba growled, "What the hell were you thinking Hinata!? We've failed the test because you were too scared! You're pathetic!" Hinata bowed her head in shame at her teammate's angry words. Shino put a hand on Kiba and said, "Enough." Kiba pushed Shino's hand away and stalked out of the building furiously.

"T-thank you Shino-san," Hinata stuttered out. The Aburame simply nodded and walked with Hinata as they went to find their jonin instructor.

Shikamaru saw team 8 leave and was tempted to follow course. While he knew there was no 10th question it sure would be a drag to have to continue competing in the chunin exams. While he was considering the pros and cons to not having to do the exam versus Ino's shrill screams the proctor announced they pass. "How troublesome…"

*****BREAK*****

Team 7 returned from a rather simple C ranked mission on the fifth day of the Chunin exams. They would be allowed to watch the preliminary bouts that the survivors of the Forest of Death had to fight before the 3rd portion of the exam. The other genin would not know they were there as they would be behind a false wall above the 2nd tier of the battle area. It was a blatant favoritism shown to team 7 however the Hokage could see the advantage of having Sharingan observers pick up any jutsu that was used. Kakashi was a regular observer to most chunin and jonin exams. Hiruzen saw little reason to exclude the rest of team 7 when Kakashi made his request.

Sasuke had given thought to his spat with Kakashi and realized he really had acted like an idiot.

Kakashi was remarkably straightforward with his team. He clearly outlined what he expected of them at every turn. Work as a team. Train hard. Don't lie to him or each other. Hide your strength. Work as a team. Kill swiftly when required. Don't take chances. His sensei had succulently explained why these were of vital importance.

It all followed a logical pattern, all Sasuke had to do was follow the instructions and he would be granted power through training and new jutsu. And twice now he had risked his sensei's wrath. Why? Why would he risk one of the great assets he had at his disposal? The training and support of the leaf's most elite jonin. The shinobi who had copied a 1000 jutsu.

Kakashi taught him to analyze himself with the Kage Bunshin, and at the same time he taught him to analyze his own actions and the reasons for them. Why did Sasuke care about competing in the chunin exams? He wanted to say it was because he needed to find out how strong he was. He wanted to say that it would allow him to test himself against other powerful shinobi. But looking inwardly proved that false. Kakashi had taught him to see things as they are not as he wanted them to be.

He faced the truth. He wanted to revel in victory, personal victory not just a victory for his team. He wanted to stand triumphant to have other people acknowledge his power, the power of the Uchiha clan.

With this new piece of self discovery he considered its importance compared to the stated goals he had. Destroying Itachi and rebuilding the Uchiha clan. If his third goal was pride and adulation of the village was it more important than his initial two goals?

'No, it isn't, it's pure vanity!'

Realizing this didn't mean it wasn't a desire for Sasuke. He would bring pride to the name Uchiha, he would be the Uchiha most remembered by history. But he should also go about it in a way that maximized his chances. The Sharingan did not make him invincible; he could be killed in battle before he achieved any of his three goals. If the world knew that he had an unlocked Sharingan he could be the target of ambitious villages like Iwa or Kumo. If they wished to war with Konoha in the future it would be in their best interest to eliminate a true heir of the Uchiha clan.

Kakashi had showered them with stories of powerful shinobi with vast potential who were cut down before their prime. Sasuke shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He thought so different now than he had a few months ago. It was almost like he was a different person; the overt analysis of every action he made, the actions of those around him and the potential ramifications of everything he thought or did gave him a new outlook. In a way it was exhausting but he knew it made him stronger.

He cleared his head and ordered his priorities. Kill Itachi. That was still more important than rebuilding his clan or showcasing his power to the village. After that was rebuilding his clan. And finally it was to showcase his talent to Konoha and the world. Kakashi-sensei had been right about everything so far, he would follow his game plan and become stronger. When the time was right and team 7 was disbanded he would do things differently but he would keep the lessons Kakashi had taught him.

Mind clear and ready to fulfill his role he walked in with the rest of team 7 to stand with his sensei behind the false wall. He listened to the Hokage's brief speech and saw Kabuto's choice to remove himself from the chunin exam. That left 14 genin. Too many for the finals and it was decided that there would be a series of six battles, with two "buys" that would automatically progress to the final rounds. This would leave 8 contestants to fight in the last stage.

The contestants were mostly from Konoha. Gai's team, team 10, and Kabuto's team made eight from the leaf. Team Gaara from Suna was there as was the team from Oto. Sasuke was interested in seeing how Neji fought; as another dojutsu user there might be much he could learn from how Neji used his bloodline. The genin also was curious about Gaara; he had heard Naruto's report of the boy and was intrigued. Sasuke grinned at the possibility of learning new jutsu with his Sharingan. He looked intently at the board as the first names populated.

**AN: **Ah don't hate me for not putting team 7 in the chunin exams. It really doesn't make sense from the way this Kakashi thinks about things.

I've attempted to make Sasuke's changes slow and natural. I feel they all follow a natural progression. If Sasuke wants strength and Kakashi is giving it to him he's going to use what he's given. With Kakashi's obsession with calculation and seeing underneath the underneath it would be obvious to have him force the team to do self reflection. You can see it with Sakura and Sasuke most clearly.

How could a shinobi taught to analyze her surroundings not see Sasuke hates fan girls? How could Sasuke not realize pride could lessen his chances for revenge?

I hope you stick with the story – I won't spend a lot of time on these preliminary matches. The time I do spend will be viewed through the eyes of team 7. I will also make it COMPLETELY random.


	12. Chapter 11: Genin vs Genin

**AN: **Thank you the reviews – I'm glad people are still following the story despite the unexpected twist. Like I said before the matches were completely random and I'm not spending a whole lot of time on them.

**Chapter 11:** Genin vs. Genin

The first names displayed Dosu Kinuta versus Temari. Kakashi was curious on the abilities of the Oto nin. The fight proved to be fairly straightforward and not very interesting. Temari kept her distance against a shinobi with potentially unknown abilities. Dosu tried to close the distance however Temari used her Futon elemental release to drive him back. Dosu became desperate and tried to push forward anyway and was blown clear across the arena and smashed into the wall. A smashed rib punctured his lung and he coughed up blood. Hayate called the match before the sound nin died of blood loss.

Sakura shook her head and whispered, "Wow she doesn't mess around!" Kakashi wasn't surprised that the Kazekage's daughter was impressive. 'I still would place my chips on this team against the Sand Siblings but it would be a close battle. She is definitely chunin material.' While Kakashi mapped out what a potential battle would look like in his head he watched the electronic board as a new set of names appeared.

It turned out to be Yoroi Akado versus Shikamaru Nara. The two opponents walked to the center of the arena. The fight began with Yoroi attempting to get in close. Sasuke had been disappointed by the first fight and hoped some new jutsu would be thrown out. It was not to be. Yoroi tried to close in to absorb the Nara's chakra. Shikamaru countered by backing up and throwing a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it at the ground. Yoroi was able to dodge away but the blast still lifted him upwards.

With Yoroi airborne it was impossible for him to change his trajectory. Shikamaru simply let his shadow extend and grab the older genin. Kabuto's teammate was trapped and now prone on the ground. Shikamaru pulled a kunai from his shin, a place most shinobi would not place a kunai. He then hefted it and made ready to throw. With Yoroi completely paralyzed and mimicking his opponent's moves he would have no way to counter the attack. He tried to break free of the Kagemane no Jutsu but he wouldn't have time. Shikamaru announced, "Either you forfeit or this kunai hits you in the neck." His voice had a cold tone that Naruto was not used to. 'Did something happen in the Forest of Death,' Naruto wondered. Akado had no choice but to surrender and Shikamaru passed on to the next round.

Sasuke was rather frustrated at the lack of jutsu being used. The Kagemane no Jutsu was a result of a bloodline and therefore was not something he could copy. He kept his face impassive as he watched the billboard light up with two new names. Neji Hyuga versus Kin Tsuchi. Kin looked sour at the match up while Neji looked confident. Gai shouted, "Neji showcase the power of your youth!" Neji suppressed a sigh as he made ready to advance.

Sasuke was very interested in Neji's capabilities. Again he was disappointed in the match. The completely lopsided combat did prove Neji as worthy of a chunin promotion, at least in terms of ability but he had not needed to push himself. Projectiles were useless with Neji's dojutsu and with Kin being a senbon user the outcome truly was foreordained. After toying with his opponent for a few minutes he went in close and finished Kin off with his clan's Gentle Fist fighting style. Kin collapsed on the ground, her chakra points closed and her body bleeding internally. She cursed Neji and then forfeited.

Naruto turned to Kakashi, "That was pretty dumb of him wasn't it?" Kakashi quirked his eyebrow and the nodded, "Yes he flaunted his ability when the match could have been decided in seconds. When you take your exams one day I expect none of you to needlessly showboat." Sasuke was irritated that he had not been able to see the full extent of the genius of the class his senior. The speed Neji had wasn't at Sasuke's level but he had no idea if Neji had been holding back against his outclassed opponent. His musings were interrupted by the announcement of the next fight.

Ino Yamanaka versus Misumi Tsurugi. Thirty seconds was the length of the fight. Misumi used his **Nan no Kaizo** (Soft Physique Modification) to stretch his body around the blonde girl. Ino shrieked as the flesh of her opponent met hers, she was completely grossed out and forfeited the match immediately after her scream. Asuma buried his face in his hands, to be the sensei of a shinobi who had performed that poorly was embarrassing. Sakura felt bad for her one time friend. That was a rather humiliating way to end Ino's chunin exam. A shinobi could not afford to be squeamish, on the field there would be far worse things than a malleable body.

Sasuke bowed his head toward his sensei. "Hnn you were right, challenging myself against this lot would have been worthless." Kakashi looked at the Uchiha, "They aren't all that bad. Rock Lee for example has been using weights longer then you have and would give you a run for your money in a taijutsu fight even with your Sharingan." This also intrigued Naruto; weight training had been an incredible boon to his strength and speed. He was excited to see how Lee did in his match. The next match was Tenten versus Zaku.

Naruto had to resist the urge to shout out his support for Tenten. While he hadn't had a whole lot of interaction with her, he had deeply appreciated the assistance she had provided in helping him learn which weapon suited him. He silently cheered as the match began.

Tenten was a distance fighter and so began the match by hurling a variety of weapons at Zaku. Zaku laughed and responded with his **Zankuha** (Decapitating Airwaves). The blasts of air and sound from his arms pushed the kunai, shuriken and other weapons away. Tenten did not let up; she continued to send more and more weapons towards he opponent. Zaku taunted her, "Your weapons are useless, my arms can knock anything down you throw at me!"

Tenten saw that her attacks were ineffective and decided to go with her ultimate attack. **Soshoryu **(Twin Rising Dragons) She placed the scrolls in the air and activated her custom made jutsu. Rising into the air above the smoke she hurled a ridiculous amount of weapons down at her opponent. Zaku was hard pressed to keep up but he was able to scatter the weapons around the arena with rapid and repeated blasts from his arms.

Zaku scoffed when the attack was over, "That all you got little girl?" Tenten kept her face impassive as she manipulated the fallen weapons with the wires that had been attached to them. With incredible skill she pulled the weapons toward Zaku from multiple directions. Zaku tried to blast them all away but his defense did not cover all directions. He tried to dodge but couldn't get out of the way in time and a kunai buried itself in his side and a shuriken in back of his leg.

Zaku cried out with pain, Tenten circled her opponent warily, picking up some of the discarded weapons. Zaku was bleeding from both wounds and tried to hit Tenten with his air waves but she was out of range. Blood pooled from both wounds, and he could barely stand let alone chase Tenten down. Tears of frustration and shame filled his eyes and Hayate asked, "Do you want to forfeit?" Zaku screamed no and tried to rush Tenten in an awkward charge. Naruto looked on with a bit of pity, clearly Zaku wanted to win desperately.

Tenten ran to the side forcing Zaku to turn to try to close in. With her superior speed she literally ran a circle around Zaku. The genin from Oto cursed her for a coward and futilely tried to blast her with his arms but the range was too far to be effective. Tenten knew the wounds were bleeding heavily, the kunai in his side the most significant wound. All she had to do was keep her distance and Zaku would collapse from blood loss.

The battle 'continued' on for another 10 minutes before Zaku finally collapsed to the ground defeated. Naruto was happy for Tenten, she had fought strategically even with a horrible disadvantage. When she had the upper hand she kept her cool and took the sure victory instead of attempting a flashy finish. It was a fight that Kakashi would have been proud of. Gai congratulated Tenten and the arena was cleared of the weapons before the next match.

The next battle would be Choji versus Gaara. Lee caused quite a scene when the board showed the two competitors. It would mean he would not be fighting in the preliminaries! Gai tried to console his student, promising that he would be able to show his youth in the final part of the chunin exams. With the disruption ended the match could start.

Naruto was anxious as he watched the two make their way to the center. Gaara was bad news; he felt it in his bones. Kakashi was also concerned. He had analyzed the available data on Gaara and had come to the conclusion that the boy was like Naruto, he was a jinchuuriki. Unlike Naruto, Gaara had little control and was psychotic. The information Konoha had on the missions Gaara completed for Suna showed that he reveled in killing.

Choji was a bit unsteady entering the arena. His sensei had promised him barbeque if he had done well but the boy in front of him unnerved him. Shikamaru had told him not to mess around and to forfeit the instant it was looking bad. He had never seen his laid back friend so intently serious before and that was the reason for his nerves.

The battle began with Choji using his **Baika no Jutsu **(Multi-Size Technique). The jutsu expanded Choji's body which allowed him to better utilize **Nikudan** **Sensha** (Human Bullet Tank). Choji turned into a ball and rushed forward hoping to smash the smaller genin with one attack. Gaara didn't even move. His sand erupted in front of him stopping the momentum cold. Choji rolled backwards trying to get even more speed to smash through the sand. Again Gaara made no move; he didn't even blink as the ball smashed into the sand.

"Pathetic, your blood won't please mother but I will still take it!" Gaara announced as the sand whipped about him in a frenzy. Choji was a bit disoriented from the two failed attacks and tried to hastily back away from the sand. With his disorientated he fell backwards and the sand surged toward him. "I forfeit," he screamed. Gaara ignored the announcement and said, **"Sabaku Soso"** (Sand Waterfall Funereal).

The sand that covered Choji instantly tried to implode the young genin. Gai dashed forward along with Hayate smashing the bulk of the sand away from Choji; however some of the sand was still able to complete the attack. Sand crushed Choji's left leg at knee height. Choji screamed in pain and Hayate angrily said, "The match is over, stand down or be disqualified!" Gaara stared at the proctor for a moment and then walked back to the sideline.

The medical team rushed in to tend to Choji. To Naruto's horror he could see Choji's lower leg had been completely pulped. Sakura gasped and put her hands up to her face. With her medical training she knew exactly how bad the damage was. The medics would have no choice; they would have to amputate the leg at the knee. Shikamaru quivered with rage, if Gai and Hayate had move even a half second later his best friend would be dead. Asuma was shocked at the damage, guilt wracked him. He hadn't moved to help defend his student because he thought the others were handling it. And now Choji's career as a shinobi could very well be over.

Asuma hurried after the medical team. An awkward silence filled the primarily Konoha filled area. Many of the genin were furious at Gaara for what he had done. Naruto spoke, "That bastard, he was going to kill Choji. I'll kill him for this, that's a promise." Kakashi looked at his student, "Naruto think about what you are saying. That is the Kazekage's son. You killing him could start a war with Suna, and would get you executed. What Gaara did was wrong but within the chunin exams things like this occur." Naruto ground his teeth in frustration. Choji had been one of the few classmates who hadn't picked on him in the academy. While they had never been close or even spent time outside of the academy he had appreciated the fact the boy wasn't a bully like so many of the others were.

His thoughts were interrupted as the third Hokage began to speak. He spoke about the chunin exams and what the aspiring genin could expect next. There would be a one month delay before the chunin exams continued. Everyone would know who they would be fighting next, as part of being a chunin meant researching your opponents and planning ahead. Naruto shook his head in sympathy as Lee cried giant anime tears at not being able to showcase his youth for another full month.

The names were called out. In the top half of the bracket the first match would be Temari versus Neji. The second match would be Gaara versus Misumi. The winner of the first and 2nd match would face each other in the semi finals after the lower bracket completed their two matches. In the 2nd bracket it was Tenten versus Lee. And then Kankuro versus Shikamaru, the winner of these two matches would face each other in the semi finals.

The reactions were mixed. Neji and Temari eyed each other but remained impassive. Misumi looked scared while Gaara looked at him with contempt. Tenten and Lee were disappointed that they would have to fight each other. Shikamaru barely paid attention to who he was facing. He was worried about his childhood friend.

Up above the 2nd tier of the arena Sasuke was curious to see how the matches would go. Both Temari and Neji were dominant in their battles and it would be a good match. Gaara versus Misumi would be a joke. Lee versus Tenten would be an interesting bout since Lee was all about close range taijutsu while Tenten favored long range attacks. Sasuke had little interest in the match between Shikamaru and Kankuro. One favored clan jutsu that Sasuke couldn't copy and the other was a puppeteer a shinobi art that Sasuke had no interest in.

As the genin below them filed out Kakashi looked at his team. "This marks the end of the preliminary matches. How do you think you stack up compared to these?" Naruto answered, "I don't have enough information to be sure but I would be confident against most of them. Tenten is great but my **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) has 360 degrees of protections. Shikamaru doesn't have any area jutsu that I'm aware of so my clones would defeat him. I didn't see Kankuro or Lee so I can't say one way or the other. Misumi didn't show much but based on look of fear when he found out he would be facing Gaara I think his skills aren't as developed as they could be. Temari would be fun to fight against as another wind user but with my larger chakra reserves my jutsu would eventually win out. Neji and Gaara are the only ones that would really worry me."

Kakashi found the analysis reasonable. "And you Sasuke?" Sasuke decided to be honest. "I believe I'd be able to defeat all of them. I am least confident about Gaara. His sand jutsu is powerful but he could be hiding other abilities, if so that makes him very dangerous. I know you've told me Lee could be a handful since he's being using weights longer but with only taijutsu to rely on I'm not that concerned. Neji might be a good opponent but as Naruto pointed out earlier he toyed with his opponent which means he'll probably make stupid mistakes. Temari is a strong kunoichi however fire beats wind. Shikamaru's shadow jutsu relays on trickery, it doesn't move at my speed, with my Sharingan I'll be able to see it coming regardless of what else is going on."

Kakashi agreed with Sasuke' tactical reasoning even if he was a shred too confident about seeing through all of a Nara's tricks. "Sakura?" Sakura bit her lip and then said, "I don't know how well they defend against Genjutsu so it's hard to say. If I hit any of them with the Genjutsu and it sticks I'll win. That means Neji would be the worst opponent for me to face." Kakashi didn't press Sakura for a more firm answer but asked her, "And how would you face Neji?" Sakura thought about it for a few moments and then responded, "I'd keep my distance forcing him to chase me around the arena. At a time where my next move would be obvious to keep my distance I'd switch it up and rush him and try to time a point blank **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) directly at him."

Their sensei gave them an eye smile. "Good tactical analysis everyone, lets head back to the training fields and work on improving jutsu speed." The melding of chakra through hand seals required intense focus not only on the hand seals themselves but on the internal process of transmuting the chakra into the required element and shape. Doing it at normal speed typically provided the most power, rushing a jutsu without properly forming the chakra weakened it or made it fail all together. It was also an excellent way to further refine chakra control which would make chakra use more efficient when forming jutsus.

Naruto wanted to check on Choji but saw that if he arrived right now people would wonder how he had already heard about his injuries. After training he would head the hospital and check on him. A part of Naruto wanted to track down Gaara and get payback for Choji but he knew there would be consequences if he did that.

**AN:** I was a bit displeased by some of the match parings but I promised to make it random. Please review!


	13. Chapter 12: New Training

**AN: **Thank you for the reviews!

**Chapter 12:** New Training

The prognosis for Choji was not good. His leg was amputated at the knee, spelling a probable end to his shinobi career. Choji was determined to continue being a shinobi but the leg would cause problems. He could obtain a prosthetic but he could not channel chakra through it and this would slow him down if he had to travel. In addition his clan's signature jutsu would not function properly with a limb that couldn't expand.

The Sandaime allowed Choji to stay on the shinobi roster for now but he would not be allowed to attend any missions beyond D ranks. Naruto had seen him the night of the preliminaries and they had talked briefly. Choji's injury was a hard blow to Naruto. Up until now there had been no serious casualties in his shinobi career. None of his fellow classmates had lost their life or limb and staring at Choji's missing leg hit home many of the lessons his sensei had taught. Being a shinobi wasn't a game, it was life and death.

After the practice on using jutsu rapidly Kakashi had announced there would be no training or missions the next day. Instead it would be a free day to relax a little. Kakashi had told them that they were going to be given some more specific training tailored to each of them. He had kept mum about the specifics so Naruto couldn't help but wonder. The highlight of the day was that his chakra kunais had come in. He had excitedly tried to channel chakra into them and they had hummed with blue energy. A simple toss at a target saw the target smashed through and the chakra blade flying another 40 feet before burying itself 3 feet into the ground.

He would have to be careful with them. Naruto experimented with his clones. Unfortunately unlike regular kunai and equipment the chakra kunai would not be replicated when he made a shadow clone. While they looked like his custom made kunai's it was impossible to channel chakra like the chakra blades. 'Still worth every penny, I bet that bastard Gaara's sand wouldn't stop a throw from one of these!'

Naruto spent his day off working with his new chakra blades, he didn't know how intense the new training would be and he wanted to become proficient in what they could and couldn't do. Naruto discovered that the wind chakra did not actually make the blades go faster; it simply increased their piercing power dramatically. The blades pierced, rock, ground, trees and even metal. He would need to test it against some defensive jutsu to see how deadly it was.

One test Naruto did was to throw it at his clone who then used **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm). The results were surprising; at normal power the jutsu cancelled out the piercing aspects of the kunai but still struck with force to kill. However if he had the clone overpower the jutsu it would throw the kunai off course. 'Good to know if I ever face someone with the wind element using thrown projectiles.' Naruto also tested the effects of throwing regular kunai and the chakra kunai past his clones who then used the Reppusho to push the kunai even faster. It was tricky to get the timing right at first but once he had it he was able to do it consistently. Pleased with the results he finished out his conditioning for the day and went to Ramen Ichiraku for some dinner.

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi met with the team the next morning. All three were eager to learn about the new training he had planned for them. "You've seen the chunin exams and know the abilities of the genin in the competition. There is a lot left to teach you however with all that has been going on there is a rare opportunity for you to learn from a different sensei for a short period of time." Naruto asked, "A different sensei? Why?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes; he didn't want to learn from someone else he wanted to learn from the best. Unless he was apprenticing under the Sandaime he didn't like this.

Sakura remained silent but she also wondered what was going on. Kakashi sighed, "I appreciate your loyalty but the Hokage has given me a mission, I can't provide the details. That being said I think you'll be pleased with my plans for your training while I am gone." Kakashi looked at his genin and said, "For one thing you'll still meet as a team on a daily basis to work on teamwork. Incorporate the new skills that you learn and see how they synergize with the rest of the team. That will take place in the afternoons. In the morning you will be assigned to a new instructor."

The team nodded, Kakashi's tone brooked no dissent. While they weren't happy they understood. Kakashi had been given a mission straight from the Hokage. Since they couldn't go on it, it was probably an A ranked mission if not an S class. "Sasuke you will be training with Rock Lee. Lee is preparing for the chunin exams and could use a sparring partner that can keep up with his taijutsu abilities. Since all three of Gai's students are in the chunin exams he had decided to spend an equal amount of time with each of them. Learn from Gai, his taijutsu skills are second only to me. While I will not give away his secrets, he does have a technique that would defeat even me."

His genin looked at him with wide eyes. Defeat Kakashi-sensei? Gai was a well known shinobi and listed as an A to S rank in other village's bingo books. But Kakashi was listed as an S ranked shinobi everywhere. What kind of technique was that? Sasuke looked hungry and Kakashi shook his head, "He won't show you that technique because it is a forbidden jutsu. The point is to learn from his taijutsu style and train hard with Lee. Neither of them will say a word about your abilities or your Sharingan."

"Hai Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi turned to Sakura. "I know you've been getting lessons where you can and it has been spotty to try to find a jonin level shinobi not on a mission. I've spoken with Kurenai and she had agreed to train you in Genjutsu. In exchange I'll be providing supplemental training when I return to her genin in ninjutsu and taijutsu." Sakura was happy; Kurenai was famous for being the best Genjutsu user in Konoha!

Naruto asked, "What changed? I thought jonin typically only taught their own team?" Kakashi beamed at his pupil. That was a question he would not even have thought to ask when he had just graduated from the academy. "A good question Naruto, what changed was that I'm not here to personally oversee the training of my genin team. While the Hokage has the final say I did barter a bit with him. In return for him sending me on the mission he spoke with the jonin that I wanted to help train you and asked them to be receptive of the idea. To be honest this type of cross training has fantastic potential benefits. It's really only tradition that's stopped us before."

"That makes sense Kakashi-sensei, so who am I training with? Is it Asuma? I know he has the same elemental affinity as I do, I bet he could teach me a lot of jutsu!" Kakashi gave his pupil an eye smile, it was a good guess. "No Naruto you get to be trained by one of Konoha's very own legends." Naruto was positively drooling while he wondered who it could be. "Jiraiya of the Sannin." Naruto's eyes grew big, "He's the one who taught the 4th Hokage, and the 4th Hokage taught you!" Kakashi nodded; pleased to see his student had continued his reading.

Sasuke was jealous of Naruto's opportunity however two things stopped him from speaking up. First and foremost he knew it would just cause him problems with Kakashi, it would be stupid to irritate the man. Secondly he was actually looking forward to working with Lee. This would be a real chance to test how strong he was against a competent genin. It would be a good measuring stick to see at what level his skills were.

"All right team seven, make me proud while I'm gone. I should return prior to the chunin exams. After the exams I'll look for a nice B mission we can go on." The genin smiled confidently, most genin could not go on B ranked missions but most genin didn't have Kakashi Hatake as their sensei.

*****BREAK*****

Sakura reported to her first lesson with Kurenai. Kurenai was curious about the pink haired genin. She had heard the rumors that team 7 was dysfunctional and that the girl was the worst type of fan girl. Before Kakashi had left he had taken Kurenai aside and stated he had downplayed his team a bit and that Sakura had put her fan girl ways behind her. It was a good thing to otherwise Kurenai would have put the poor girl through the ringer.

Even so Kurenai wanted to test the girl. Kakashi was unreadable behind his mask and one never could be certain of the angle he was working. His team wasn't selected for the chunin exams. That meant something and she hoped it didn't mean she would have to waste her time with a talentless slacker mooning over a boy who wouldn't return her affections.

Sakura arrived ten minutes early. 'One point in her favor,' the red eyed jonin thought. Sakura presented herself properly and inclined her head, "Thank you for agreeing to teach me Kurenai-sensei." 'Respectful too, but let's see how strong of a shinobi she is.' Kurenai silently and subtly placed a Genjutsu on her charge. She was shocked when within a second Sakura clapped her hands together, "Kai." The Genjutsu had not been a powerful one so it was disrupted by Sakura's chakra release.

Kurenai was impressed. Being able to detect a Genjutsu like that was impressive, she knew some chunin who weren't as adapt as this girl was. "Very good Sakura, I see Kakashi had provided some training on detecting Genjutsu?" Sakura responded, "Hai Kurenai-sensei!" It spoke highly of Kakashi's teaching abilities that he had taught them how to detect Genjutsu. She had secretly expected Kakashi to focus on the flashier aspects of the shinobi arts. She had often thought with a 1000 jutsu's Kakashi's only response to a problem would be to throw a ninjutsu at it.

While Kurenai was primarily there to learn Genjutsu she wanted to test her other abilities. "Sakura, we are going to spar, keep it to taijutsu." Sakura immediately raised her hands into an Academy fighting stance. The jonin rushed forward, not at full speed but fast enough to cause most genin problems. Sakura dodged the blow and slide around her opponent. Kurenai followed up her initial rush with a rapid fire kick that Sakura ducked. Kurenai let her foot land and then pumped chakra into her feet speeding her forward in a rush. Sakura rolled to the side, reacting instantly to the attack.

Kurenai was again surprised. So far Sakura had avoided all of her attacks by a fair margin. Kurenai upped her speed a bit and pressed forward with a rapid fire combination of punches and kicks. Sakura twisted to the side of the kicks and pushed the punches away with an open palm. Sakura was purely defensive in her motion but that defense was amazing. Kurenai again upped her speed. Sakura continued avoiding every blow she could and deflected attacks that couldn't be completely avoided. The pink haired teenager even lashed out with a low stomp aimed at the Genjutsu mistress's ankle. Kurenai avoid the blow and responded by coming in fast with a palm strike. In a move that seemed to defy gravity her opponent bent backwards avoiding the blow.

Kurenai stiffed her fingers with the hand that missed the blow and drove them straight down at the genin's exposed torso only for Sakura's arm to deflect the attack, flip her lower body over completely and kick out with both legs. Kurenai blocked the blow with her forearm but the momentum drove her back a step. Sakura pushed off with her legs and created separation between the two. Kurenai stared at Sakura. 'Kami, that girl is good! What is Kakashi thinking specializing her in taijutsu like this? While impressive, the academy reports show her to have exceptional chakra control. Medical jutsu or Genjutsu should be her primary focus!'

Kurenai did not realize that Sakura was not taijutsu focused. She did not realize that Sakura had already a base working knowledge of medical procedures if not the medical jutsus themselves. She did not realize Sakura already had mastered two separate Genjutsu and an offensive elemental ninjutsu. At that moment Kurenai was frustrated that a potential Genjutsu expert in the making had been neglected because of who her sensei was. 'If Kakashi hadn't gone on that mission would that arrogant fool have never let this girl shine in Genjutsu?' Kurenai angrily thought.

Kurenai brought her speed up to that of a chunin level shinobi. She lashed out partially in anger with a devastating serious of blows, allowing some of her true power to bleed into them. It was with growing astonishment that Sakura continued to evade the blows. Now the blows were missing by a hair's breadth but they were missed. Sakura twisted and elongated her body like an escape artist, she rarely needed to block but when she did it was placed perfectly.

Kurenai was not a taijutsu expert. In a pure taijutsu conflict there wasn't a jonin in the leaf that wasn't her superior. That being said she was still upper chunin level in her taijutsu abilities. Sakura was making a mockery of that fact however. Granted Sakura had been focused almost purely on defense, less than a handful of offensive strikes were shown. But when it came to pure dodging ability the girl was massively ahead of Kurenai's own team. Kurenai finally had enough and moved to her maximum level of speed. Sakura managed to continue dodging for another 30 seconds before the jonin managed to get in a good palm strike to the chest knocking her down.

Kurenai had broken a sweat and was actually breathing a bit heavily. In a moment of shock Kurenai realized that Sakura wasn't anymore winded then she was! 'I'm still angry at Kakashi for not focusing the girl on an appropriate shinobi path that could use her excellent level of chakra control but this… this is ridiculous. The girl went from being near last in taijutsu combat to being at least chunin level at avoidance and evasion in less than 6 months!'

"That was well done Sakura. No one on my team could have lasted that long, I see Kakashi has trained you in taijutsu quite well." Sakura rubbed her chest for a moment and responded, "Thank you very much Kurenai-sensei." Kurenai smiled at the girl, she reminded her a bit of Shino. Shino was very reserved and didn't talk much unless asked to. The girl wasn't shy, just reserved. 'Was she really a fan girl in the academy? She acts nothing like it.'

"Now that you've seen what can happen when you come across someone stronger then you in taijutsu fight, how would learning Genjutsu help you?" Sakura considered her answer and responded, "In a variety of ways, against you it would have been ineffective because of your Genjutsu mastery however most shinobi don't have your skills. First, being able to place a Genjutsu before the fight even begins could allow me to win the fight. Second during the fight I could have used a Genjutsu to distract you, if I could do so even momentarily I could have pulled a kunai and gone in for the kill."

Kurenai laughed softly, "I agree with your first answer but the 2nd answer is far more difficult then you realize. In the middle of a taijutsu spar it can extremely difficult to focus your Genjutsu while avoiding blows." Sakura frowned thoughtfully, it was difficult but her instructor made it sound nearly impossible. Kurenai was adapt at reading body language and said, "I see you are doubting my words, you'll see what I mean after I teach you your first Genjutsu."

Sakura realized that Kurenai had not been fully briefed by Kakashi-sensei. She spoke up, "Pardon Kurenai-sensei but I already know a few." Kurenai looked slightly disturbed by the announcement. 'Kakashi did teach his student Genjutsu? AND taught her this level of taijutsu?' Kurenai shook her head, "I assume you know **Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu**." (Demonic Illusion – Hell Viewing Technique)."

"Hai."

"What else?"

"I know **Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu** (Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique) and one other tailor made jutsu."

Kurenai forced her features to impassiveness but on the inside she was dumbfounded. The girl knew three Genjutsus and one of them custom made. "Use the last one on me Sakura." Sakura nodded and gathered chakra around her. 'Hmm not good, most shinobi could sense that. I guess Kakashi can't teach everything perfectly.' "**Raiton: Mahi **(Lighting Release: Paralysis)," Sakura shouted as her hands blurred through hand seals. Kurenai sensed the Genjutsu immediately and dispelled it however she was quite speechless as she thought through what she had just been hit with.

The drawing of chakra was not a downside of this Genjutsu! The entire point was misdirection; the opponent would think that a ninjutsu was being used on them, never suspecting that it was actually a Genjutsu. What's more is that the girl had created the Genjutsu flawlessly. If Kurenai had not been expecting a Genjutsu even she may not have realized right away that it was a Genjutsu. The attack was genius and the girl had mastered it. Mastered it, not just functionally used it but actually mastered it.

Kurenai took a deep breath and tried to calm down. 'All right, I'm new to being a jonin instructor. It's obvious that Kakashi is better at this then me. One day I can be there too. But for the life of me I don't understand why team 7 wasn't placed in the chunin exams. It's possible that the team just has internal conflict or that Naruto is completely dead weight but I can't imagine Kakashi couldn't improve even the dead last in the academy given the rapid and amazing growth of this girl.'

Inner Sakura felt a bit smug, it was clear that Kurenai had not expected her to be this far advanced. "Hah – take that! No one should doubt team 7!" Outwardly Sakura remained calm and ready for her instruction to begin. Kurenai quieted her thoughts and pushed them aside, "All right Sakura you have surprised me. When I saw your taijutsu skills I had expected little to no effort made on learning Genjutsu. I was wrong. Have you practiced Genjutsu during sparring? Can you use it in the middle of a fight?"

"Hai Kurenai-sensei! Kakashi-sensei has had me spar with Sasuke and Naruto while using Genjutsu. Kakashi-sensei says that I won't always have the luxury of getting the drop on an opponent and that I should always be aware of my surroundings while using any jutsu, Genjutsu or otherwise." It was sound advice but typically that was beyond the skills of a mere genin.

"All right Sakura, I have less than a month to enhance your skills. Initially I had expected to simply give you a foundation in Genjutsu for you to grow on but with your ability… frankly Sakura I plan on teaching you some very potent Genjutsu. If you aren't able to learn them right away please do not think less of yourself." Sakura cracked a smile, "Kurenai-sensei, I will do my best! It is an honor to be your student." Kurenai could detect no falsehood or fake flattery. Kurenai had someone on her hands that every teacher and sensei dreamed of. A willing, ready, talented and eager student who wanted to learn their specialty. Kurenai smiled and began teaching Sakura on how to become the next Genjutsu mistress of Konoha.

*****BREAK*****

Sasuke had been told to arrive at 5:00 AM to meet Gai and Lee. Waking up early wasn't a huge deal but the sun hadn't even risen yet. Sasuke wasn't going to complain however and arrived promptly. Gai and Lee were already doing push-ups. As Sasuke arrived Gai continued his workout as he shouted, "Sasuke! You are early, how youthful of you!" Sasuke stared at the green clad jonin. The man was so loud. He bet Naruto would have fit in much better with Gai then he was going to.

Sasuke responded, "I am here to train with you Gai-sensei. What should I do first?" Gai smiled widely making his teeth gleam, "We have one hour left in our morning workout just copy us and then you and Lee-kun will spar!" Sasuke complied and began doing a truly obnoxious amount of pushups, squats and lunges. Sasuke thanked Kakashi for his conditioning otherwise he would never have been able to keep up.

After the hour of hell was done Gai wanted Lee and Sasuke to spar. "Both of you remove your weights." Lee was surprised by the command but obeyed. They dropped raising quite a din. 'Hnn those weights are heavier than mine, good thing I have my Sharingan.' Sasuke activated the seal that reduced the weight to nothing. He stretched a bit moving around getting used to his speed without the weights. Gai shouted, "Begin!"

Sasuke activated his Sharingan and saw Lee blur toward him. With the Sharingan he easily followed Lee's movements; he saw the telegraphed flying side kick with ease. He lifted his arm to block and took the blow. That was a mistake. Lee struck with tremendous force causing Sasuke to skid across the ground barely retaining his feet. He could feel a bruise already starting to form on his arm. Gai had not said it was only a taijutsu duel so he pulled out a brace of kunai and threw them at the charging Lee.

Lee deflected all of the blades with ease but they slowed him down by a fraction of a second. Enough time for Sasuke to complete the Kawarimi and substitute himself with his pack he had set down earlier. Lee smashed into the pack with another bone crunching kick. Sasuke took the moment of reprieve to drop a smoke bomb down and create a shadow clone. Lee charged into the smoke and kicked out at the clone as the real Sasuke hid behind a tree with every ounce of his stealth.

Lee lashed out with a taijutsu combo of kicks and punches that the clone dodged away from. The clone couldn't afford to block a single blow as that would make it dissipate even if the block was perfect. Sasuke analyzed the fight looking for a weakness. In terms of taijutsu Lee appeared to have none. However he did seem to attack with abandon, there was no thought about possibly stumbling into a trap. Sasuke wrapped an explosive seal around a kunai and then charged forward.

Lee was caught off guard for a moment but quickly kicked out at the clone driving it back and then turned on the real Sasuke. Sasuke tossed the kunai up in the area, leapt up and preformed the Kawarimi again, this time with his clone. His clone grasped the explosively wrapped kunai and saw Lee jump up to kick him hard. The clone let the kunai explode in his hand just as Lee struck. Sasuke timed the move to avoid causing Lee serious damage but the explosion blasted Lee down. His guard was down and the real Sasuke sped forward and tapped the falling Lee on the neck with his kunai, simulating the kill if it was a real fight.

Lee sprang back up ready to continue but Gai halted the fight. "Sasuke! My rival has taught you very well! You saw that my Lee-kun was stronger then you so you used your ninjutsu techniques to defeat him." Lee looked crestfallen. "Cheer up Lee! This was just the first spar, your youth was too eager against such a tricky opponent! Not all shinobi fight head on, you must be able to avoid falling for their tricks, Sasuke will be a great sparring partner for you to train with!"

"Hai Gai-sensei! Next time I will beat him. And if I cannot beat him I will do 500 one handed pushups. And if I cannot do 500 one handed pushups I will run around the village on my hands!" Sasuke felt a Kakashi eye twitch flickering on the left side of his face. 'This month is going to kill me,' Sasuke grimly thought to himself.

The next fight involved a pure taijutsu spar with Sasuke versus Lee. Sasuke knew he was going to be hard pressed without ninjutsu to back up his fight. He didn't complain about it being unfair though, this was an opportunity to push himself against a specialist. Lee came in with another blistering fast and powerful kick. Sasuke ducked underneath the attack and lashed out with his own combination of strikes. Lee was faster and blocked each attack and pushed forward again. Sasuke could block attacks at an angle but could never take a straight hit without becoming bruised.

Sasuke was pushed to his limit in the spar; his eyes allowed him to see each attack coming but the speed in which he had to defend and strike back at limited his possible moves. Sasuke was in excellent physical condition but this spar was testing that, after all he had worked himself ragged with the green duos insane 'warm up.' Sasuke was slowing slightly and the avoided attacks were being missed by thinner and thinner margins.

The desire to win and prove himself pushed him to try something different. Lee sent a haymaker to his right and he stepped back just barely enough to avoid, then he shoved chakra into his feet and launched what amounted to a flying tackle at Lee. Sasuke's momentum was fast and even with Lee's speed he couldn't quite kick out in time. Sasuke slammed into Lee's torso and they hit the ground. The wind was knocked out of Lee as he gasped for breath. Sasuke attempted to capitalize it by lifting up and striking downward with a palm strike to the face.

Even out of breath Lee was faster and caught Sasuke hand as it descended. Sasuke was then thrown up and away from Lee. Lee jumped to his feet at the ready and rushed forward. The last Uchiha was frustrated his Naruto like surprise move hadn't worked. The bout continued with Sasuke getting more and more worn down. Finally it happened, Lee's punch was blocked a fraction of a second too slow and clipped Sasuke's temple and he hit the ground seeing stars. Gai called a halt to the match.

"Stop it is over. You showcased your youthful spirits, I am very proud!" Sasuke groaned as he got up. He needed to get faster and stronger too. If it wasn't for his Sharingan Lee could pick him apart with ease. Sasuke really wanted to rest for a few moments but Gai had them put on their weight load again and now it was time to _sprint_ around the village. Sasuke felt his body quiver. 'Insane, these two are insane!' Sasuke plowed on trying to keep up with two green monsters.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto had been instructed to meet Jiraiya by the hot springs. He wondered how much he had read about the great toad sage was actually true. Could he really summon a toad that could crush the Hokage tower? Books he learned were marvelous information sources however they were not always factual. Stories tended to get embellished and sometimes the authors were biased or were not the primary source of information. Whatever the truth was he was ready for it. Or so he thought.

Naruto waited for the Sage to make himself known when he saw a man peeking into the girl's bath house. Naruto did a double take; the man was breaking three separated laws by what he was doing! Horror slowly dawned on him as he started to stare at the man. It couldn't be. This was the legendary toad Sage? This was the last loyal Sannin? Naruto couldn't help himself.

"NO WAY! Jiraiya the legendary toad Sage is a pervert?" Jiraiya had known of the boy's presence and had let him see what he was doing. He had not expected to have him announce him like this. The brat's volume alerted the girls that someone was peeking. "You brat what do you think you are doing?" Naruto was fuming; this was like learning your hero hated ramen. Jiraiya sped away as the angry women gave chase. Naruto sighed and took to the roof tops to follow the perverted old man.

Eventually the girls lost track of him and Naruto confronted the tall legend again. "You're supposed to train me, not peak on girls you pervy sage!" Jiraiya laughed, "And just why should I train you?" Naruto glared at him, "Because Kakashi-sensei arranged it, don't play dumb with me. Stop wasting time and get on with the training, I have to meet my team in a few hours."

Jiraiya rubbed his chin, "Hmm you want me? Jiraiya to train you? On your schedule? You must think highly of yourself kid." Naruto poked his thumb into his own chest and said, "Highly of myself? I'm going to be the next Hokage so damn right! Now what are you going to train me in first?" Jiraiya scoffed, "Kid if, and it is an if, if I train you it is going to be on my schedule. You can play with your little friends later."

Naruto shook his head, "My sensei gave us instructions, and those aren't changing regardless of what you say." Jiraiya turned around, "Bye then." Naruto shrugged, he wasn't changing his mind. He suspected he was being tested but if he wasn't it didn't matter, his team was more important than training with the old pervert. To Jiraiya's shock Naruto kept walking. 'Hmm Kakashi, that's pretty impressive loyalty you've got in that kid, either that or he's a complete idiot not realizing what he is missing.'

The white haired spy master decided to follow the boy discretely. The blond went to a training ground and summoned two dozen clones. The clones spread out and worked on a number of things. Some walked up trees, others balanced dozens of leaves on various parts of their body rotating them in different directions. Still others helped the main Naruto with his workout. They tossed kunai at varying speeds at the original who deflected them all.

Jiraiya was impressed with the kid. His control was quite good, and he knew that with the fox's chakra must have meant absolutely abysmal initial chakra control. The kid was also fast and worked on his conditioning while improving his combat abilities. Jiraiya made himself known and instantly Naruto was on guard as were the rest of his clones. Again Jiraiya was impressed as Naruto had preformed an almost undetectable Kawarimi with one of his clones. If he had been assassin or opponent he would have targeted what he thought was the original. 'Ah Kakashi your paranoia passes on to another generation.'

Naruto looked at the Sage and said, "I thought you weren't going to train me."

"I like your spunk brat but don't get carried away, if I am to train you I expect appropriate respect."

Training that had been ingrained in him leapt to the fore, "Hai Jiraiya-sensei!"

Jiraiya blinked. Shaking himself he said, "All right I'm going to teach you an ace jutsu." Jiraiya told Naruto he was going to teach him to summon toads. He was surprised when Naruto knew instantly what he was talking about. 'I thought he was supposed to barely be able to read but he knows all about the various summons of the world?' Jiraiya wondered if Kakashi had gotten his mitts on the boy while he was in the academy. It would explain his knowledge base and skill level.

Jiraiya went through the summoning and summoned a toad and presented the contract to Naruto. Naruto was all smiles and gratefully signed his name in blood on the contract. "All right kid before you summon anything I want to talk to you about your chakra." Jiraiya asked if he ever felt another chakra source available to him during certain times. "No, but I've avoided trying to tap into the nine tailed fox's chakra."

"What? How? Did Kakashi tell you about this?"

Naruto shook his head, "No Jiraiya-sensei, I read that a jinchuuriki can tap into the power of the demon they have sealed inside of themselves. However not being a seal master and knowing the nine tail's fearsome reputation I thought it best not to even try." Jiraiya was a bit put out at not being able to explain anything to his God son. "Well I am seal master so go ahead and give it a try." Naruto assumed a meditative pose and turned his sight inward. His chakra surrounded his body and he tried to feel it, looking for any sign of chakra that was different. After several minutes he opened his eyes, "I'm not sure how. All of my chakra feels the same."

Jiraiya gave a theatrical sigh, "Exhaust yourself of chakra almost to the point of chakra exhaustion and then try the summoning jutsu." Naruto responded with a "Hai Jiraiya-sensei" and sprang into action. He created 50 clones and had them all fire a **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) into the sky. Jiraiya was impressed by the kid's chakra reserves. They surpassed even his estimation. 'The kid's not bad with control but the way he is using that jutsu is very ineffective.' Jiraiya had not yet realized that Naruto was deliberately overpowering the jutsu in a wasteful manner to better exhaust his reserves.

Finally Naruto stopped and panted, "My chakra reserves are really low, can I try the summoning jutsu now?" The toad sage nodded, "Go ahead, and if you feel another chakra source latch onto it and use it." Naruto took a deep breath, bit his thumb and went through the hand seals. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" **(Summoning Technique)

**AN:** I hope you liked the chapter. I know some folks will think Lee should have been stronger then Sasuke but the anime doesn't support that. Kakashi provided essentially no training outside of basic chakra control exercises until the chunin exam break. Then in one month Sasuke is able to defeat a pre-transformation Gaara. A Gaara that wiped the floor with Lee despite Lee using the gates, in this fan fiction Kakashi has given Sasuke a lot of training and improved his conditioning. In any event feel free to leave your comments on what you think of the chapter.


	14. Chapter 13: Toad and Fox

**AN: **As always I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to review or PM me about the story. Part of the joy of doing fan fiction is knowing other people are enjoying it.

Chapter 13: Toad and Fox

Naruto slammed his hand onto the ground and a poof of smoke obscured view for a few moments. As the smoke cleared Naruto saw that he had successfully summoned a toad, however the size of the creature was a bit sad. The small orange toad waved and said, "Yo!" Naruto looked at the creature flatly. Jiraiya laughed, "Haha kid, you have got to me kidding me! Is that the best you can do?" Naruto glared at his temporary sensei and said, "If I hadn't had all my chakra drained I would have done much better!"

Jiraiya snorted, "If you had harnessed the kyubi chakra like I told you to it wouldn't be an issue!" Gamakichi looked at the two shinobi and interrupted, "Hey why did you summon me? And do you have any snacks?" Naruto took a deep breath trying to suppress his frustration. He inclined his head to the summoned toad, "Hello Gamakichi-san I was attempting to try the **Kuchiyose no Jutsu **(Summoning Technique) for the first time and you arrived."

Gamakichi looked at the boy and did a shrug, or at least the miniature toad equivalent of one. "So… snacks?" Naruto shook his head in apology, "I am sorry Gamakichi-san, next time I summon you I will have snacks." Gamakichi sighed, "Be seeing you then," and with that he returned to the land of toads.

The legendary Sannin shook his head, "You're still using your own chakra. You need to use the other chakra you have inside of you." Naruto shouted, "HOW? Give me an exercise or training or something, don't just tell me to do something and not show me how to do it!" Jiraiya was amused at the boys tantrum, apparently Kakashi hadn't completed turned him into the perfect disciplined shinobi yet.

"Look brat, I'm the one training you. Try meditating again." Naruto grumbled to himself and meditated. After about thirty minutes Jiraiya asked, "Anything?" Naruto opened one eye, "If I felt anything different I would have told you!" Jiraiya flicked Naruto's forehead sending him backwards. Naruto tumbled back up to his feet. "I have to get going Jiraiya-sensei, my team is meeting soon." The Sannin nodded, "All right kid go train with your friends, we'll try again tomorrow."

*****BREAK*****

The three genin of team 7 met and went over what they were learning. Sasuke and Naruto were on the ragged edge due to near chakra exhaustion for Naruto and complete and utter physical exhaustion with Sasuke. Sakura was in the best shape. They took it easy and did some simple exercises that Kakashi had left them to build on team work. Combination attacks, clone tactics and team signal memorization.

As a team they talked about what they were learning. Sasuke talked about the insane green duo. While he wasn't learning a flashy jutsu he was confident in being able to improve his taijutsu. If he could move at the speed and strength of Lee and use his Sharingan he felt his hand to hand skills would match up fairly well with a jonin. The others didn't disagree.

Sakura laughed and talked about how her sensei was flabbergasted at the skills she possessed. She also talked about the A rank jutsu that Kurenai was going to be teaching her. Genjutsu was something that the three thought would be very valuable, being able to pin an opponent in place while the kill strike was delivered would make taking out threats easy and nearly risk free.

Naruto was at a crossroads. He didn't want to lie to his team but he also was worried about revealing his secret. Would Sakura and Sasuke look at him differently? Would they call him a demon and a monster? Naruto wanted to give them more credit than that but he was scared. He finally belonged to something – sure he had a competitive rivalry with Sasuke but they worked together in almost perfect harmony. And even though Sakura-chan hadn't agreed to go on a date she had stopped hitting him and actually seemed to enjoy his company. Could he risk all of that by telling them about the damn demon in his belly?

Sakura looked at Naruto who was strangely silent and contemplative. "Naruto, what's on your mind? Aren't you going to tell us about your training?" Naruto trembled and remained silent. Sakura looked on worriedly, "Naruto? Naruto! What is the matter with you?" Sasuke activated his Sharingan to double check that Naruto was Naruto. Seeing that he was in fact Naruto he remained silent.

"Guys… I'm really glad to be on your team." Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, where was Naruto going with this? Naruto took a deep breath. "I have something to tell you, a secret that only the adults of the village know." Sakura could see her teammate was struggling and… what was he to her? A friend? Yes her friend. Her friend was terrified. "Naruto, whatever it is just tell us." Naruto smiled at his pink haired teammate and said, "The nine tailed fox wasn't killed. It was sealed inside a baby. I was that baby. I'm a jinchuuriki."

A weight seemed to lift off of Naruto for a moment, he had said it. Whatever happened from here on wasn't up to him anymore. Sakura widened her eyes in shock. The kyubi wasn't dead? That monster was inside of Naruto? Sasuke barely had any outward reaction. Instead he said, "What are you worried about? No one with an ounce of sense could think you were the nine tailed fox. It's the most powerful of all the biju, a monster that destroyed entire divisions of shinobi." Sasuke paused, "And you're a dobe, little different isn't it?"

Naruto gaped at Sasuke. Then he laughed. Tears welled in Naruto's eyes. Sasuke didn't care if he was a demon container. He looked at Sakura who smiled at their antics. "Naruto, you're our teammate. If you were evil do you think the Hokage would let you become a shinobi?" Naruto rubbed his eyes, "I guess I've been worried about nothing then." His two teammates nodded.

After a moment Sasuke said, "You still haven't told us what you're learning to do." Naruto rubbed the back of his head and said, "Ah well that's what brought this on. Pervy sage is trying to teach me how to tap into kyubi chakra." Sakura did two double takes. Jiraiya wanted Naruto to _use _the nine tail's chakra? The second double take was in regards to what Naruto called the legendary Sanin. "Pervy sage? Show respect Naruto-baka!"

Naruto laughed, "But he is a pervy sage! He was peeking on women when I first met him!" Sakura rolled her eyes, "Naruto you go from sharing a deep dark secret to making bad jokes. You're lucky Kakashi-sensei isn't here!" Naruto scowled at the pink haired girl and muttered under his breath. The three started working on some of their combination attacks. Naruto's chakra reserves were low but he had enough to fire a few jutsus. He showed them his chakra blades and Sakura refined her Genjutsu on clones that Naruto and Sasuke then dispatched with jutsu combination attacks.

Naruto was happy. Completely exhausted but happy. His teammates hadn't changed at all after learning his secret. They treated him the same. 'I was worried for nothing, I'm glad I told them.' Naruto collapsed into bed; even his massive reserves were spent. Tomorrow morning he was going to work with the pervy sage again. Naruto hoped they would work on something different; he had been getting along just fine without tapping into the damn fox. Why was it so important? Naruto's thoughts were cut off by the immediate arrival of sleep.

*****BREAK*****

The next few days were filled with frustration for Naruto. He would exhaust himself depleting chakra only to try to summoning and bringing in nothing larger than Gamakichi. Gamakichi didn't mind because Naruto had done as promised and brought snacks but for Naruto it was aggravating. It reminded him of when he was in the academy and couldn't get anything right. Naruto was beginning to suspect Jiraiya had no idea how to get him to draw upon the fox's chakra. Which would make sense; it wasn't like he had trained a jinchuuriki before.

One morning he decided to do things differently. The toad sage had instructed him to exhaust his chakra again. Naruto smirked and said, "Hmm all right let me try pushing my chakra into one big move, maybe that will be faster." Jiraiya suspiciously eyed the boy but nodded. Naruto turned around flashed through the hand seals and shouted, "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu" **(Summoning Technique).

This time Naruto was not exhausted. This time he was pushing his refined chakra as strongly as he could into the summon. He envisioned a massive toad, one that would make Gamakichi look like the runt. The Sanin's eyes widened as a massive cloud of smoke erupted and he felt a familiar chakra presence. Naruto suddenly found himself up in the air on the back of a giant toad. "Yatta!"

Naruto looked down on what he was standing on. The toad was massive and magenta colored. Unlike Gamakichi he wore clothing. The black kimono partially concealed the mesh armor he wore underneath. In his hands he had a Sasumata and across his back was a shield that looked almost like a plate. The young jinchuuriki was ecstatic about the size of the summon. The large toad rumbled underneath him, "Hmm Jiraiya did you summon me?"

Jiraiya shook his head, "No Gamaken-san, that was my apprentice on your head who summoned you." The massive toad responded with another deep rumble, "I did not see him, how clumsy of me. You must be Naruto." Naruto laughed again, "No big deal, it's great to meet you Gamaken-san!" The toad nodded his head slowly, "Likewise Naruto-san. Why did you summon me?" Naruto explained that he wanted to try summoning larger toads then just Gamakichi and that if he tired it when he was well rested and had full access to his chakra he thought he could do it.

Jiraiya interjected, "Naruto! The purpose was to use the kyubi chakra not bother important toads. You shouldn't call a battle toad unless it is truly needed." Gamaken rumbled, "I'm not that important." Jiraiya smacked his face with his palm; he would have liked it if his trusted battle ally had backed him up. Naruto huffed, "What is your problem pervy sage? Just because I didn't use kyubi chakra doesn't meant his isn't an incredibly powerful ability! You taught me something that will let me take out jonin level threats."

"Stop calling me that! One day you'll need to tap into that chakra, and you'll need to control it. The Yondaime designed that seal so that you could use that kyubi chakra. You insult his legacy by not using that power." Naruto sobered a bit. While still very happy with the result of his jutsu he didn't want to denigrate the legacy of the greatest shinobi Konoha has ever produced. It did make him think why had the Yondaime had designed the seal that way.

"Well sorry about that Gamaken-san. I'll only summon you if I really need to next time." Gamaken nodded solemnly and then dissipated. Naruto smoothly landed on the ground and faced the taller man. "Jiraiya-sensei what I'm doing currently isn't working. What else can I try?"

"Exhaust your chakra and keep trying, I have an idea we can try tomorrow." Naruto created his shadow clones and began to deplete all of his chakra. 'Time for extreme measures kid,' Jiraiya thought. Since Naruto had used a large amount of chakra summoning Gamaken it didn't take too long between shadow clones and ninjutsu for his chakra reserves to fall lower. Jiraiya saw that the boy was winded and walked next to the panting jinchuuriki and flicked his forehead protector with a heavy dose of power. Naruto sailed into the nearby chasm.

"Now you'll have to us the demon chakra or you'll die!"

Naruto was enraged. 'Has he gone senile?' Naruto attempted to grasp the edge of the canyon but the sides were slick with water runoff. Naruto pulled out one of his chakra kunai, wrapped wire around it and hurled it at the side of the canyon. It blasted through rock until the force was spent and lodged in firmly. Naruto grasped the other of the wire around a 2nd kunai that he held onto. His grip was sure and he then swung directly at the wall no longer falling only downward. Naruto channeled the tiny amount of chakra he had left into his feet to brace the blow as he slammed into the side of the wall.

Jiraiya didn't hear the summoning jutsu. 'Kami what have I done?' Jiraiya raced to the edge looking down to see an angry Naruto hanging from ninja wire. "Pervy sage you baka you could have killed me!" The Sanin shouted back, "Why didn't you use the summoning jutsu?"

"I don't have enough chakra; I'd only succeed in killing myself and Gamakichi!" The toad sage shook his head, "I've traveled the land you ungrateful brat! In times of stress and danger jinchuuriki naturally draw upon the chakra sealed within them. I know what I'm doing. Now quit playing around and do it!" Jiraiya with far superior chakra control raced down the side of the canyon and slashed the ninja wire sending Naruto plummeting once more.

"Ahhh you bastard pervy sage!" Naruto continued falling. His respect for the Sannin was decreasing by each meter her fell. 'This guy is just guessing… I could really die!' With that sudden burst of panic and thought of incoming death Naruto fell within himself. Looking around he saw what looked to be a sewer of some kind. 'This must be within the seal, either that or a Genjutsu.' Just to be safe Naruto gathered his chakra. "Kai!" Still in the same spot he walked toward the feel of the dreadful chakra.

Before the massive prison of the kyubi he watched. The fox rushed forward metaphorically slamming against the bars of the cage. Naruto did not think the fox could hurt him and stared impassively at the monstrous creature. "You've finally decided to visit," the deep throated growl emerged the fox's form.

"Not by choice demon."

"Then why are you here boy?"

"Because some crazy old man wants me to use your chakra and right now I'm falling down a chasm and am about to die unless you pay some damn rent! Give me some of your chakra or we are both dead."

The fox laughed, "So bold. Since I have no desire to end like this, very well."

Naruto felt the red hot chakra flood his body and with a cry he was again falling down the canyon. Eye's burning with red chakra he sped through the hand seals just in time.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu" **(Summoning Technique)

The chakra formed and summoned none other than the toad boss himself, Gamabunta!

*****BREAK*****

Naruto hated being in the hospital. He had been taken there after his "test" with Gamabunta. The sour old toad was just as bad as Jiraiya. Both of them were insane, he wouldn't be surprised if their past was littered with dead apprentices who hadn't succeeded one of their little initiation trials. Naruto supposed that wasn't fully fair but at the moment he didn't care; he was in one of the worst places in Konoha. The hospital. 'I'll make my escape soon,' Naruto promised.

Naruto decided as he was resting and recovering from the exhaustion and wounds he had endured trying to cling to Gamabunta that he wouldn't be summoning the chief toad very often. If he needed assistance in the form of a giant toad he'd go with the more accommodating Gamaken. While he was a bit taciturn he didn't try to throw him to his death.

Naruto also hated not being there for team practice. It felt like he was letting his team down which really chafed because both of his teammates had been completely accepting of his status as a jinchuuriki. Naruto forced himself to get a little bit more rest. He would not miss the meeting time on the next day. Closing his eyes he wondered if the pervy sage had any other training planned and if it would be any more reasonable.

*****BREAK*****

The month continued to pass with all three genin improving. Sakura's practical knowledge of Genjutsu was quickly making her one of the most dangerous kind of opponents. The kind that can kill you before you even realize you were in danger. Even Sasuke's sharingan wasn't proof against her new Genjutsu techniques. Sasuke and Naruto's ability to detect and break Genjutsu also rose as a byproduct of Sakura's new abilities.

Sasuke had thought Kakashi's training was intense. Gai and Lee continued to run him ragged. It was only thanks to his sharingan and his own natural grace that prevented some kind of serious injury to Sasuke. But with the intense training along with the increasing weights Sasuke's taijutsu skills were approaching near jonin levels. His speed and strength alone weren't enough to put him at that skill tier but when combined with the predictive power of the sharingan it was doubtful any chunin in the village could match him in taijutsu.

Naruto actually fell a bit behind Sasuke in taijutsu. While his greater stamina continued to make his strength and speed superior to Sasuke, the intense practice Sasuke received combined with the sharingan meant he was flat out better then Naruto in taijutsu. This spurred Naruto to train even harder.

Naruto's time with Jiraiya was not spent on taijutsu at all. Jiraiya decided that Naruto had made enough progress with accessing the kyubi chakra for now. The next time on the training agenda was something that he figured would take Naruto a long time to learn. The rasengan. However much to the toad sage's surprise Naruto quickly learned the technique. The Kage Bunshin allowed Naruto to quickly pick up the beginning steps of the training. A dozen Naruto's training allowed for the total number of training hours to effectively multiply his efforts by a factor of 10. In addition all of the hard work Kakashi had pushed for from Naruto on chakra control was paying dividends. Within just one week Naruto had formed the rasengan and could use it in a fight.

Jiraiya often looked on as team 7 trained after their morning exercises with their various temporary senseis'. The genin actually put Genjutsu and minor non lethal traps around their secluded training area but for one of Jiraiya's skills it was child's play to avoid them. Watching them was a treat for him. Their teamwork was remarkable and the degree of advancement they had in comparison to the academy reports was mind boggling. The clay may have been of extremely high quality but none could deny Kakashi being the master potter. Jiraiya knew that barring something terrible happening he was looking upon the next Sannin. 'My hope is that they don't end in tragedy like we did.'

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi returned from his S class mission and reported immediately to the Sandaime. Hiruzen asked for the report. "It is as we feared; Orochimaru is either leading or helping Otogakure." Hiruzen took a poof on his pipe, "Why did he put Oto genin through the chunin exams?" Kakashi responded, "Unknown. Nothing of their plans was written outside of research notes, and those were fit only for burning." Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and Kakashi quickly added, "Not that I did. While not positive I believe it more likely than not that I escaped detected."

Sarutobi could not help but feel guilt for how Orochimaru turned out. "This is troubling Kakashi, we need to know what he is planning. Was this just an attempt to gather information about Konoha? Is he simply trying to integrate Oto into the shinobi world to draw income and missions?" Kakashi considered before answering. "All possibilities but he may also be looking to do more harm than just that. He could be looking to kill you, kill any enemies he left behind or sabotage our reputation by disrupting the chunin exams. Nothing is beyond that monster."

"And that is what worries me Kakashi. I am getting too old to anticipate all the possible threats. I shouldn't be the Hokage Kakashi; my mind is not as sharp as it once was, to say nothing of my diminishing chakra reserves."

Kakashi stared at the man known as the 'god of shinobi' and knew what he was going to ask. "It's time I passed the hat on Kakashi. Konoha deserves a hokage that can protect it properly." Kakashi looked away. "Kakashi, it must be you. You have the skill, you have the temperament and the reputation needed. It must be you."

Kakashi did not look at the hokage. He knew the hokage was weary, tired beyond mortal endurance. He had retired once and been forced to take up the hat and all its cares again. The simple fact was that Kakashi didn't think he was worthy of the hat. He had failed Rin and Obito. He had lost others while he was in ANBU. He was a skill shinobi, if conflict occurred he was needed in the field not behind a desk. Moreover he was not fit for the hokage, not for a village like the leaf.

"Hokage-Sama, you do not want me as a hokage. I respect the tradition and the history of this village. I understand why you and the others allow the civilians a place on the council." Hiruzen watched Kakashi carefully. His eye's met the one eye Kakashi kept uncovered. "But I disagree. The civilians of this village have made us weaker. They are the principal source of the hatred against Naruto. If I am hokage I will do as I see fit and the civilian council can be executed for treason and incompetence."

The old man sighed heavily. "Kakashi, Konoha is different only because of the way we treat our civilians. It is mutual respect that makes Konoha special. Surely you wouldn't end that?" The jonin looked at the Sandaime intently, "Lord Hokage, I do not have the vision needed to be a Hokage. I am a soldier, an excellent shinobi. I value the lives of my comrades and will keep them safe. I have no patience for politics and the needs of money grubbers. I know my limitations; I do not have the patience to appease the civilians." Kakashi went further, "I am not saying you are wrong, my wisdom is simply more limited. If I am the hokage I cannot rule as you would but as I see fit. I know this is incompatible with your vision for Konoha's future which is why I cannot be the next hokage."

Hiruzen collapsed in his chair. "Kakashi… who else is there?" Kakashi lowered his head. That was the problem. Who else was there? Finally he said, "Jiraiya has the strength. He also would echo the will of fire that you hold." Hiruzen shook his head, "He won't do it either. His spy network is personally maintained and on there are rumblings Kakashi, he needs to keep the network active."

"In that case Shikaku Nara would serve admirably."

"Not strong enough," Hiruzen countered.

"So? Keep the best ANBU guards on him for protection. He will make the right decisions." The hokage also muttered, "With as lazy as he is the paperwork would never get done and our economy would self destruct." Kakashi shrugged, "It's not a perfect choice but right now there are no good choices. For now you are still S class level. I am not a medical nin I can't tell you how much longer that will be the case but for now you are the best choice."

"Very well Kakashi, since you will not take the mantle it will be my burden. Let's discuss what needs to be done about Oto and Orochimaru…"

**AN: **This will be the last training montage for a while – next few chapters will have some action, I promise!


	15. Chapter 14: Chunin Finals

**AN: **I promised action… I hope you enjoy it. See discussion on the bottom author's note. I'd really like feedback on how this chapter turned out.

Chapter 14: Chunin Finals

Team 7 was excited about showing off their new abilities to Kakashi. Kakashi was proud of all of their progress and made but a few minor suggestions to the new team tactics they had developed. However Kakashi only had one day with them before the chunin exam finals began. He advised them to get a good night's rest. Before dismissing them he provided Sasuke with a pair of contacts from Yuki no Kuni (Land of Snow) that would allow him to use the sharingan virtually undetected. A sensor shinobi could sense the chakra around his eyes and draw the right conclusion but to everyone else his eyes would appear the same color as normal.

"This will allow you to watch for abilities during the chunin exam for you to copy without anyone realizing you have unlocked your sharingan." Sasuke nodded his thanks and the team dispersed.

The next morning team 7 arrived at the chunin exam stadium. The stadium was packed with important nobles, civilians and shinobi. The chunin exams rotated around the villages on neutral and good terms with Konoha, so for many it had been awhile since they had seen the exams. Who the competitors were was also interesting. The three children of the Kazekage were a strong draw of course but also the clan heir Shikamaru Nara was a favorite from the Konoha group. And with the Hyuga being hailed as the genius of his academy class the crowd agreed it was sure to be a fascinating chunin exam finale.

Team 7 saw their other classmates at the academy were already there. They exchanged pleasantries and talked about how everyone thought the matches were going to go. The general consensus was that Neji would do really well and that Shikamaru wasn't going to take it seriously. The group was evenly divided on Lee and Tenten. Sasuke knew Lee was going to do great, not only was his taijutsu speed and strength utterly ridiculous he had also picked up on other shinobi skills. While he still couldn't mold chakra, Sasuke had taught him the arts of misdirection and subterfuge.

The matches were announced again. Temari versus Neji would be up first. It would be followed by Gaara versus Misumi. The 3rd match would be Kankuro versus Shikamaru and the 4th match would be Tenten versus Lee. Then the winners in the top bracket, the winners of match one and two would fight. Then the winners of match three and four would fight. Then the last two remaining competitors would battle. Winning didn't guarantee a chunin promotion but in all but the rarest situation it did result in a chunin promotion. The genin who lost were also eligible for a promotion if they demonstrated chunin skills and qualities.

Neji and Temari entered into the arena. Hayate Gekko explained the rules or lack of them to the two chunin hopefuls. Neji activated his dojutsu and announced, "You are a skilled kunoichi however it is your fate to lose today." Temari narrowed her eyes, "Fate? We'll see about that." Neji shook his head, "This match has already been determined, you cannot win." Temari jumped back and fired a whirlwind from her fan. Neji could see the chakra in the air and easily dodged it. He rushed forward to get in close.

Temari continued to step backward and manipulate wind energy with her fan. Neji was forced to dodge to the side to avoid the deadly blasts. However he methodically got closer and closer. Temari leapt forward swung with her iron fan attempting to knock Neji out with a surprise strike. Neji saw it coming and narrowly avoided the strike by ducking. Now he was inside her guard and did a quick strike that closed a tenketsu on Temari's arm. Temari gasped in pain and stepped back and swung her fan again, however this time it was a feint and as Neji dodged she leaped away.

Neji gave chase only for Temari to throw a kunai wrapped in an explosive note at the ground at his feet. Neji was slowed again and almost missed the next dodge of Temari's wind jutsu. Neji took a moment to breathe and said, "Close but you aren't good enough to defeat a genius like me." Temari growled and was tempted to continue the fight. Instead she glanced toward her sensei and her sensei shook his head slightly. Temari called out, "Proctor I forfeit!"

Neji was surprised but simply shrugged, "Wise to give into fate, perhaps you will make chunin on the strength of your intelligence." Temari couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes in response. Sasuke narrowed his eyes, something fishy was going on. Temari was nowhere near out of chakra, why did she hold back? Sure Neji was good but the girl should have fought, she was literally throwing away any chance of a chunin promotion before of this.

The next match was Gaara versus Misumi. Gaara arrived and was ready for the bout but no one knew where Misumi was. The proctor gave him ten minutes before calling the match a forfeit. The crowd was growing restless and annoyed. The first fight had started great but had an anticlimactic ending and now the 2nd fight didn't even occur!

A masked ANBU approached Kakashi and whispered something to him. Kakashi's one visible eye widened and he responded and then motioned for his genin team to follow him. "Something is up. A large group of shinobi was spotted heading toward the village. I'm going to go investigate but if anything happens here I'm counting on you to defend the Konoha with your full strength." All three genin were shocked. Kakashi had drilled into them the concept of hiding their true abilities from the eyes of the village since day one.

Naruto asked, "What's going on Kakashi-sensei?" Kakashi responded quietly, "Nothing is certain right now but my instincts tell me something terrible is going to happen. It involves my mission out of the village, while I trust all of you, there are S class secrets that I'm not cleared to share. I'm going to investigate along with an ANBU squad and deal with the unknown shinobi. Continue watching the exams and help the remaining ANBU, jonin and chunin if something happens."

With that Kakashi used his shunshin and was gone. The ANBU were instructed to quietly inform the jonin to be on guard for a disruption during the chunin exams. All three genin were uneasy and they deactivated their weight seals. Naruto circumspectly made a dozen shadow clones and disguised them as civilians and started mingling in with the crowds. Their attention went back to the arena as the 3rd match was announced.

Kankuro versus Shikamaru was the next match. Shikamaru yawned; annoyed he would have to compete. Kankuro smirked at the lazy shinobi and said, "Don't worry you'll soon be taking a very long nap." Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. At first he wasn't going to blame Kankuro for the sins of his brother but his attitude seemed to show they were cut from the same cloth. "Your brother injured by my best friend. I only have one question – do you approve of his actions?" The Suna shinobi saw an opportunity to rattle his opponent and said, "Sure, why not? Gaara probably did him a favor, a weakling like that would only get himself killed on a real mission."

Shikamaru was fully alert and awake. He sprinted forward and Kankuro instantly went on guard. Kankuro threw a kunai at the charging genin which Shikamaru batted away, at close range the shadow user sped through his clan's hand seals. "**Kagemane no Jutsu**," (Shadow Imitation Technique) was spoken in a quiet voice as Nara's shadow raced along the ground and caught Kankuro in it. Shikamaru kept the jutsu in place as Kankuro struggled.

Shikamaru grabbed at his shin kunai holster and pull out a kunai prepared with an explosive tag. Kankuro mimicked the action but had no kunai to draw from there so his hand was empty. He activated the tag and threw it directly at Kankuro's leg. The blade slashed into the leg and exploded, ripping the leg off. Naruto saw this and whistled, "Remind me never to get Shikamaru mad! He did exactly what was done to Choji!" Sasuke shook his head, "That's only his puppet." Naruto did a double take but sure enough instead of blood and gore the smoke cleared to show splintered leg pieces of the Suna nin's puppet. The real Kankuro was on the ground and sprang up out of the bandages and threw a poison tipped kunai at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru released his jutsu and deflected the kunai with his own. Kankuro sneered, "I guess you Konoha shinobi are out for revenge huh? Too bad you released your jutsu!" His puppet Crow was no longer held by the technique and instantly sprang into action again Shikamaru. Shikamaru cursed and leapt back. He was on the run as poison, kunai and other puppet attacks hounded him. 'How troublesome, I regret not training harder now.'

Shikamaru led the puppet back around toward Kankuro and initiated his jutsu, this time having the shadows seek out two targets. Kankuro saw the tactic and moved away with both the puppet and himself at the same time in opposite directions. As soon as they started to do this the Nara clan heir sped towards Kankuro. Shikamaru needed to get his jutsu off on the puppet master not the puppet; since the puppet master still had to manipulate chakra strings once he was caught Crow would be done for as well.

Now it was a race as Shikamaru rushed to get within range before Crow caught up to him. Nara did the calculations in his head and saw a small window of opportunity and again flashed through the hand signs for the **Kagemane no Jutsu **(Shadow Imitation Technique). Kankuro couldn't quite out run it due to being close to the wall and having to move perpendicular to the racing shadow. He sped crow faster and faster and then the shadow reached him.

Sasuke sighed, "Shikamaru just lost." Nara breathed a sigh of relief as crow tumbled to a crash no longer coming at him; it had stopped just a few feet from him. He was low on chakra so he would finish him off quickly. As he was drawing a kunai he felt movement behind him and saw a modified smoke bomb being launched by Kankuro who had performed a Kawarimi with his puppet right before the shadow hit. The smoke bomb was filled with poison and Shikamaru inhaled some and collapsed, his lungs bleeding from the inside.

The proctor called the match and a medical team rushed in. Sasuke watched with his Sharingan and then nodded to his teammates, "Shikamaru will live but it will be a few days before he can breathe heavily without strain." Both Sakura and Naruto relaxed. The crowd cheered for the Kazekage's son. It had been an interesting match.

Asuma shook his head in disgust and headed after his student. Kurenai grabbed his arm, "Asuma I know you are worried about him but Kakashi wanted us to be on guard for any trouble." Asuma scowled, "Kakashi is paranoid, and nothing is going to happen here. Right now my student needs me and I'm not going to sit around watching for something that won't happen." Asuma had hoped that Shikamaru would have taught the Suna genin a lesson. While not normally big on revenge the crippling of his student had hit him hard and he was bitter about it. He also worried about Shikamaru but figured the poison wasn't lethal. But still it was his job as a sensei to go and be with him now.

Naruto itched to wipe the smug grin off of Kankuro's face. Shikamaru had been part of the small group of academy students that had not gone out of their way to pick on him. He and Choji deserved better. Naruto began to subconsciously radiate killing intent and Sasuke grabbed his arm, "What are you doing?" Naruto shook himself. Naruto hadn't meant to raise his killing intent like that, it had been almost instinctual. That concerned him as Kakashi-sensei had taught him to always be in control. Naruto shook himself, "Sorry, I'll watch it." Sakura watched the two boys, they were both tense. She realized she was to, Kakashi really thought something was going to happen and it had them all on edge.

The fourth and final part of the first set of matches would be Lee versus Tenten. Lee bowed to his teammate and said, "Let us make our sensei proud and showcase the power of our youth!" Tenten had long since become used to Lee and Gai's endless talk of youth and ignored it. She immediately began the fight by hurling waves of shuriken at Lee.

Lee dodged with startling speed and smashed a smoke bomb on the ground. Tenten was surprised. 'Since when does Lee use anything other than taijutsu?' Tenten had not spied on her teammate while he was working with Sasuke. She had not expected Lee to use subterfuge when his entire shinobi existent had been to attack directly with strength and speed. She threw more weapons into the smoke but didn't expect them to hit anything. More smoke bombs erupted around the arena masking it from view.

Tenten danced back away from the smoke. She knew she couldn't afford to let Lee get close to her or it would be all over. Tenten never saw the attack coming. She was backing away and did not realize Lee had released his weights and had sped out of the smoke, around the tree line and behind her. Lee wasn't the stealthiest shinobi but he had been practicing with Sasuke. More importantly was the fact that Tenten never even considered the possibility that Lee would use stealth to get behind her and take her out.

Lee smashed an elbow into the base of Tenten's neck, safely and effectively knocking her out. Lee was happy with his victory even though he felt guilty over how he did it. Sasuke had talked to him at length about the purpose of the chunin exams. If the villages just wanted the strongest genin to become chunin they would guarantee those who made it far enough were made chunin. But they didn't do it that way – instead they evaluated the genin based on their skills. Lee was fantastic in a fight but outside of that he lacked any shinobi arts. If he wanted a promotion he would need to show the judges that he could plan and outthink his opponent as well as out fight them.

His flawless victory even without the use of chakra would be a powerful point in his favor. Lee gave a discreet nod to the stands, a bit away from where Sasuke stood. Sasuke was actually proud of his comrade, the boy was annoying and half mad but he was eager to learn and had taught Sasuke a lot about taijutsu. Kakashi had made another correct choice with Sasuke's training. Sasuke continued to be impressed with the foresight of his sensei.

The next match would be Neji versus Gaara. However before the contestants arrived an ANBU approached the third Hokage and whispered an urgent message. Orochimaru who had the senses to hear the whispered message cursed and began the invasion earlier than planned. Signaling Kabuto to begin his Genjutsu Orochimaru and the Sound Four then acted.

Sasuke watched in horror as the Hokage was taken captive and pushed to the roof and was then cut off by a barrier created by four unknown shinobi. All three members of team 7 felt the Genjutsu start to take hold and they instantly shouted, "Kai" and broke through the jutsu. Around the stadium civilians, shinobi and samurai guards of the dignitaries started collapsing unconscious.

"**Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique) Instantly over fifty Naruto's appeared. They started to fan out looking for threats and using their chakra to snap individuals out of the Genjutsu. Sasuke saw an ANBU burn from trying to get through the barrier. Sasuke heard explosions coming from other locations in the village. He quickly asked Naruto to spread some of his clones out in all directions as scouts.

Sasuke saw chakra being built up in massive proportions from where the Suna genin were located. Massive was an understatement, the chakra was immense. The killing intent soared and those who had avoided the sleep inducing Genjutsu trembled with fear. Sasuke had felt Kakashi and Zabuza go at with full force but their combined killing intent paled before this monstrous chakra.

Naruto felt a clone dispel, "Dozens of Suna shinobi have entered the village and are heading this way." Another cone dispelled, "Damn it! Oto shinobi are hitting us too." Naruto shivered under the weight of the chakra and then paused. The chakra was different but familiar. Familiar as in similar to the kyubi chakra!

"Guys we need to evacuate this place, it's a biju!" Sasuke's eyes snapped to Naruto, "What?" Naruto rapidly explained, "Pervy sage explained that a jinchuuriki can channel the power of the biju however the risk is letting the biju out, while that releases maximum power it also means the jinchuuriki has no control. The biju will be nearly unstoppable and probably mad as hell wanting to kill as many people as it can!"

Jonin and ANBU were responding to threats from the invading shinobi, others were standing around trying to figure out a way to get the barrier down. Naruto felt another chill go through him as they started to try to organize an evacuation. His most recent clone had popped, the Suna shinobi weren't trying to get into the arena, and they were creating a kill zone around the area preventing anyone from escaping.

Naruto made another dozen clones and had them run toward ANBU and jonin to report the scouting information. He looked at Sakura and Sasuke, "In a few minutes that Suna jinchuuriki is going to start slaughtering everyone. Everyone will run and the exits are going to turn into death traps, we have to break the ambush, let's go." Both Sakura and Sasuke nodded and they rushed toward one of the main exits.

As they grew close Sasuke called out warnings of explosive tags buried in the ground under a Genjutsu. Naruto created another dozen clones and had them trigger the traps, when they reached the end of them a hail of kunai hit the clones. The clones had almost as much speed and reflexes as Naruto so they easily dodged or deflected the majority of the attacks.

The clones broke through and were instantly hit by jutsu created by jonin and chunin level threats. Very few villages would send genin against other shinobi so it was a safe bet that with few exceptions every shinobi they faced would be at least chunin rank. The clone's opponents were three squads at this exit. Two squads were made up of three chunin with a senior chunin as the 4th member and leader. The lead squad had a jonin and three chunin Suna shinobi.

Naruto felt most of the clones dispel and relayed the information to his team. Team 7 used their default battle tactic. Naruto created 20 clones and used a Henge to disguise them as Sakura and Sasuke; he also added one to look like Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke and Sakura made normal academy clones that had no substance but would confuse the attacks. The clones charged first and then on came team 7.

Another barrage of kunai and shuriken met the clones. This time several of them shouted out "**Futon: Reppusho." **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) The clones using the jutsu shoved the weapons back scattering them in all directions, in some cases they were a threat to the enemy shinobi but no injuries were sustained. One Suna chunin began using hand seals and launched a **Futon: Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) while his comrades ready more projectiles, the stronger directional wind jutsu would disrupt the Reppusho technique and allow the projectiles to wreck havoc.

Unfortunately for the Suna shinobi Sasuke saw the attack with Sharingan even as the first par tof the hand signs were being used. Sasuke rushed forward and let loose with **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) right as the chunin finished his wind jutsu. Fire beat wind and the Daitoppa actually fueled the fire and wind attack in the wrong direction. The Suna squad scattered however one wasn't quite fast enough and was badly burned on his arm and fell back screaming.

Meanwhile Sakura had not been idle. She launched her Genjutsu attack on the enemy. Her handles crackled with faux electricity as she created the hand seals at moderate speed shouting, "**Raiton: Mahi" **(Lighting Release: Paralysis). Her attack was ambitious it was aimed at the squad that included a jonin and three chunin. The jonin saw through the attack but the three chunin were not so lucky. Naruto's clones instantly streaked forward katana slashing down at them going for the kill. The jonin was a seasoned veteran and saw what was happening and shouted out "Genjutsu, you aren't paralyzed, MOVE!" He defended his squad as best he could deflecting attacks, interposing himself and using his speed and skill with his kunai to block attacks. He even managed to pop a couple however despite his skill the Naruto clones were striking from too many direction and his subordinates were sitting ducks.

One chunin managed to break the Genjutsu just in time however the other two weren't as lucky. One was decapitated by a blade strike, the second one was stabbed straight through his chest; he coughed blood and died as the clones went after fresh targets. At the same time the third squad was hoping to make a name for themselves by taking on the legendary copy-cat shinobi. One chunin molded his chakra and said, "**Doton**: **Doryuso**" (Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears). The ground beneath the Naruto clone in a Henge of Kakashi suddenly transformed into spikes of stone ramming straight towards the clone. The clone leapt into the air avoiding the attack only for a puppet covered in spikes across his body to erupt from the ground and try to hug him. The clone saw its demise coming and spent its last second throwing kunai at the chunin attacking him. None cause damage but it was a small distraction.

The clones had thinned out some but several were still going and Naruto had to force himself not to smirk and become overconfident. Instead he made another 20 clones, his chakra reserves still going strong. The jonin saw that he was creating the clones and went for Naruto himself. Naruto saw him coming and used the body substitution technique with a nearby clone. The jonin saw through the deception but had to deal with the clone anyway as it was swinging a katana with tremendous force and speed at his neck.

Ducking under the blow the jonin snarled and risked a wind jutsu. One opponent had just used a fire release technique, not unexpected in the Land of Fire but the speed of his jutsu should allow him to avoid suffering a similar fate. **Futon**: **Shinkuha **(Wind Release: Vacuum Wave) was the technique of choice, the experienced jonin completed the seals faster than the eye could follow. The technique compressed air into a blade that swept itself all around the Suna jonin. A couple of clones dashed out of the way but several went down in explosions of smoke.

Sakura was at the edge and stepped back and completed her second Genjutsu of the fight. This one was targeted solely on the biggest threat, the jonin. This technique was the one Kurenai had taught her, **Magen: Jubaku Satsu** (Demonic Illusion: Tree Biding Death). The jonin saw a tree sprout from the earth and wrap its limbs about him. He knew this was a Genjutsu but it was hard to fight the feeling of bark on skin he struggled to gather his chakra and release the Genjutsu before the caster reached him. Unfortunately for the jonin unlike Kurenai, Sakura had no intention of finishing off her opponent personally. No that was Sasuke's job. He had seen her begin the Genjutsu and was already speeding toward his target.

Within the moment the jonin had fallen under the Genjutsu Sasuke was on him and his kunai smashed into the jonin's back and perforated his heart. Just as the jonin managed the Kai release to break the Genjutsu he felt his body go limp as he coughed up blood and died. The Suna shinobi were shocked at the unexpected start of the battle. They had been expecting fleeing civilians and panicked shinobi trying to reach safety, fleeing the wrath of an insane demon. Not an organized assault that left three of their members dead and one badly wounded.

The chunin squad leader signaled the reserve teams stationed in between exits. Backup was needed and desperately. The battle continued with the clones pressuring the enemy chunin constantly, every time they managed to actually dissipate several of them, more would be created. The clone creator was constantly using Kawarimi and Shunshin to keep from being picked out by the enemy. For Sasuke's part he wrecked the spiked puppet with another fire jutsu and watched for his opportunity to strike. He didn't have long to wait in the chaotic melee of katana wielding clones and desperate Suna shinobi defending against the deadly effective if straightforward blade attacks. Sasuke was then right there in the midst of two chunin and ripped the throat out of one with a kunai before lashing out with a kick that cracked ribs and threw the chunin back into a nearby building.

Naruto had just finished a Kawarimi and lashed out with his chakra kunai launching it at the shinobi as he hit the building. The shinobi was stunned from the kick and didn't have time to form chakra or dodge so he put up an arm that had leather padding and took the blow seeking to minimize the damage. His eyes widen in pain as the chakra kunai pierced the leather, pierced skin, muscle and shattered bone before crashing through his lower abdomen and cracking the stone building behind him. The chunin was now in the physical state of shock and was dying.

The Oto shinobi reserve had seen the signal and dispatched a heavy kill team. Four jonin moved out with a second chunin squad as backup and support. They came across the battle field seeing over half of the initial three squads decimated. One Oto nin spat, "Pathetic Suna fools, this is a joke!" Naruto sent his clones at the new threats only to watch as the four jonin shredded them. "Jonin level squad incoming, don't engage." Sasuke finished off another puppet, this one had fired poisonous senbon. If it hadn't been for his Sharingan he might have been hit. 'Glad I'm an Uchiha!'

Naruto knew this was going to create collateral damage but he didn't have much of a choice. Dealing with the one jonin hadn't been too taxing but that had been with all three of the squad working together, four jonin threats at the same time would simply be too much. Naruto took a deep breath bit his thumb and pushed forward with his chakra.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" **(Summoning Technique)

**AN: **A couple of things I'd like to get feedback on. For one, I didn't take too much time on the chunin exam fights because none of those fights were critical to the story. Would you guys have preferred longer fights?

Secondly I want to preempt some concern that chunin squads dying too easily. Keep in mind that chunin examples in the anime weren't exactly impressive. The demon brothers were pretty ineffectual versus cannon Sasuke who had received NO training from Kakashi. My characters are stronger then cannon characters and are adept at using teamwork. It also happens to be a very stacked team – a Sharingan user (talk about an OP bloodline!) a Genjutsu user with perfect chakra control and Naruto who had over the top chakra reserves. In the Anime Naruto creates a brand new jutsu in a few days, I think the strength and abilities show cased in the fight with the ninja from Sand is appropriate however I'd love to hear from you the reader!


	16. Chapter 15: Invasion of Konoha

**AN: **Thank you for the reviews!

Chapter 15: Invasion of Konoha

Kakashi raced back to the village proper. He and the ANBU squad had come across twenty shinobi preparing a large summon. Intention clearly not good Kakashi immediately attacked. Kakashi and the ANBU squad ripped into the 20 shinobi. Kakashi was feared as an S ranked shinobi for a reason. His speed and strength were among the best in the shinobi world, combining his own innate skill and genius with the Sharingan made taijutsu battles child's play. Kakashi was also known for his ninjutsu allowing him to pull the right jutsu at the right time.

Needless to say the enemy didn't know what hit them between an elite ANBU squad and Sharingan no Kakashi. The would be Konoha attackers were decimated. Kakashi made sure one was alive to be interrogated. He told the ANBU squad, "There have to be others, split up and locate the threats." The ANBU squad scattered. Kakashi was glad he had convinced the Hokage to increase the guards around Konoha.

Kakashi sensed a dreadful chakra fill the air as he raced back to the village. 'Oh no… it's the Suna jinchuuriki, its being released inside the village!' It was nearly impossible to stop a transformed biju. Kakashi increased his speed and hoped his students would survive.

*****BREAK*****

Inside of the arena the ANBU squad had not been able to breach the barrier around the Hokage. They stopped trying when Gaara completed his transformation into Shukaku. A loud roar tinged with insanity screamed out and the massive form of the Ichibi appeared. Shinobi and civilian alike were stunned at the massive size of the beast. Immediately the civilians that had been awoken by the Naruto clones began fleeing. Kurenai, Gai, Ebisu and Hayate tried to keep the civilians safe by distracting the massive creature.

Kurenai attempted a Genjutsu that had no effect on the tailed beast. Ebisu massed an army of Bunshin in an attempt to distract the creature; even though they were perfectly created the Ichibi ignored the images. Hayate used his blade on one of the demon's legs but outside of dispersing some sand it had minimal effect. Gai was the only one who actually drew the beast's attention.

Gai used the Gate of Opening to increase his strength and kick the beast across its facial features. The kick would have shattered any rock and while it did dissipate a huge amount of sand it was just a tiny fraction of the whole. Shukaku roared and tried to slam one of his limbs on the green clad jonin. Gai flipped out of the way of the massive paw and then dashed forward delivering a flying kick into the sand.

The great beast was momentarily distracted as it shouted out, "I'm going to crush you like a bug!" Gai was now the focus on its attention, which even for a taijutsu master like Maito Gai was not something that could be endured for long. Gai dodged the massive attacks as Shukaku roared, "Hold still you ant!" Shukaku breathed in deeply and pounded on his own stomach to unleash a **Futon: Renkudan** (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet) at Gai.

Gai leapt away from the attack however it shattered the ground with such force that the back blast of earth, rock and force sent Gai slamming into the arena stands with bone shattering force. Gai couldn't afford to be slowed by his injuries or the Ichibi would kill him in one blow so he instantly used the Gate of Healing to reenergize his body. The Ichibi liked the destruction it had caused with his **Futon:** **Renkudan** (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet)and this time did it again firing indiscriminately all around the stands.

The death and destruction were immense and the screaming cacophony added to the confusion. The civilians, samurai guards, dignitaries and genin trying to escape the monstrous attacks. They raced for the exits. Team 7 had cleared the way of the buried explosive tags in one of the main exits but in the others death awaited them. The first group who reached the exit died from explosions, the ones right behind them tried to stop only to be trampled by the others behind them. A band of chunin tried to get out in front and deal with the enemy shinobi blocking the path but the civilians were in the way. It was a slaughter house.

Gai sprang back at the demon determined to keep it from killing anymore civilians. Ebisu for his part used smoke bombs and aimed them at the head of the monster trying to blind it. Hayate yelled at Kurenai, "We have to clear the exits of the enemy forces or all the civilians are going to die!" Kurenai rushed toward one of the exits. In the stands there were shinobi who had training and skill and they also began to fight back at the blockades held by the Suna and Oto nin. One of those individuals was Hiashi Hyuga who had acted as soon as the Genjutsu started.

He had grabbed Hanabi and rushed over to where the genin had congregated to watch the fight and ordered Hinata to follow him. At the exit he chose he saw the civilians rush in and trigger the explosive tags. He rushed to the front and when the Suna shinobi unleashed wind jutsu and projectiles he responded with Kaiten spinning and knocking all of the attacks aside. Knowing his two daughters were on the line he rushed forward determined to annihilate all that soon in his path.

Meanwhile Gai's students tried to also help distract the biju. Tenten unleashed her most powerful attack **Soshoryu **(Twin Rising Dragons) at Shukaku. Much to her chagrin the monster seemed utterly unfazed. Lee opened up the first gate and like his sensei let with a powerful kick that displaced sand, like his teammate's results it failed to attract much attention. Neji chose a dangerous course of action and ran up the great tail and then unleashed Kaiten right at what appeared to be a sandy joint.

"Get off of me!" It turned in a circle slamming his tail in a wide arc. Neji was throw off and was hanging in the air about to be struck down when his sensei leapt and grabbed him away from the tail that had just completed its rotation. Gai charged again activating the third gate and turning his skin red. With the enhanced power and speed he began a rapid blur of punches and kicks that individually didn't do much damage but were rapidly shredding one of its sandy limbs. He called out to his team to get back.

With a roar of rage the Ichibi tried to crush the taijutsu master. Gai dashed away ahead of the attack and immediately countered smashing more sand away from the main body. The Ichibi became more enraged at the tiny green bug that would not be squished and started rampaging after it ignoring the rest of the combatants. Lee could only watch in awe as his sensei almost single handily protected the rest of the village from the rampaging beast.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto's summoning jutsu went off without a hitch. The massive toad Gamaken had heeded his call. The charge of the four Oto jonin was halted in its tracks. Their instant thought was that the legendary Sanin Jiraiya was nearby about to attack from hiding. Their hesitation gave Naruto a few moments to explain what was happening to Gamaken. "Hmm I'll do my best," the giant toad rumbled and swept his Sasumata at the Oto shinobi. Despite Gamaken's earlier protests of being clumsy it was far from the truth.

The speed and power of the blow were impressive however these were jonin threats and they were able to dodge. At least the first strike they were able to dodge. Gamaken shoved his weapon again and again at them, because of its size at times the jonin would have to become airborne. That's when Gamaken struck with true killing power. One jonin was smashed in the chest, instantly killing him. Another one was clipped hard on the shoulder causing it to be ripped out of its socket painfully.

Naruto atop Gamken's head created a batch of 10 clones, at this point his chakra reserves were starting to deplete after repeated uses of the Kage Bunshin and the massive amount spent on Gamaken however the clones were a deadly distraction to the two remaining healthy jonin. The jonin unleashed a lighting jutsu that Naruto instantly reacted with a powerful **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). Though the jonin's attack was of higher rank than Naruto's C ranked jutsu, the wind jutsu was the natural counter to lighting and the attack was ended before it could be a threat.

The other jonin attacked Gamaken with explosive tags attached to a brace kunai thrown at the toad's feet. Gamaken leapt into the air avoiding the attack and came crashing down on the middle of the chunin support squad. Three of the chunin were able to get away but the fourth was crushed by the debris that flew in all directions from the landing. Sasuke saw his opportunity and signaled Sakura. They and two of Naruto's clones headed toward where the chunin support squad had scattered to.

The two jonin were not sure how to take on such a large opponent. Even if they had hit with their jutsu and exploding tags it likely would have only dealt minor injuries. As they tried to formulate a plan they were harassed by the Naruto clones who were throwing kunai, dashing forward with katana strikes and generally making life difficult. They couldn't take the time to properly deal with the clones as the massive Sasumata twirled and moved like it was alive seeking to end their existence.

Sakura again used **Magen: Genkaku Mahi** (Demonic Illusion: Illusionary Paralysis). Since these opponents were fresh they thought it was a lightning attack and failed to detect it was a Genjutsu. Sasuke buried a kunai in each of their throats and turned to the last one who had rushed forward with a taijutsu attack. Sasuke wasn't able to resist the temptation like Naruto had; he smirked at the chunin and fought back using his Sharingan. The chunin would have been outclassed even without the Sharingan thanks to Sasuke's near flawless taijutsu forms and his incredible speed and strength. With the Sharingan included the fight lasted seconds and ended with Sasuke snapping his opponent's neck.

Sasuke and Sakura sprang back toward the exit of the arena and away from the two remaining jonin who were being driven away by Gamaken and Naruto. At that moment a mass of people rushed out of the exit. Unlike the other exits that had turned into death traps this one was clear and the people were swiftly running away. The two jonin didn't even try to carry on with the plan, it was useless they wouldn't be able to beat the summon. They nodded to each other and used their shunshin to go report for additional orders.

Naruto directed the majority of his surviving clones to shadow the civilians as they made their way to the shelters in case any additional attacks occurred along the way. A couple of the genin were shocked to see the bodies of fallen Suna and Oto shinobi all over the place and the ones responsible for it as team 7, the team that hadn't even been granted access to the chunin exams! And Naruto of all people appeared to be the one who had summoned Gamaken based on the fact that he was riding atop the toad's ahead. Kiba came to a dead stop and just stared slack jawed. He was jostled by the people around him and that made him pick up his feet and continue moving.

Team 7 wasn't sure what to do next. Should they remain here and guard the exit? Should they get into the arena and help with the jinchuuriki? Should they help clear the other exits? They could see fighting breaking out at the other exit points of the arena. Sasuke and Sakura climbed up Gamaken to meet with Naruto and plan. Sasuke started, "We should help clear the other exits – that place is a death trap right now." Naruto hesitated, "But while we are here we can guarantee that at least one place is safe for evacuation." Sakura could see both points of view but thought they should seek out orders from one of the jonin. When Sakura said as much Sasuke shook his head, "Sakura the jonin don't know the full extent of our abilities we'll be regulated to helping people get to the shelter."

Gamaken stirred beneath them, "I'll hold this place if you need me to." Sasuke looked at Naruto, "Well then? Let's go kill our enemies." Naruto felt that Sasuke was a bit too overeager to finally be fighting outside of the watchful eye of Kakashi-sensei but in this case it was the right to decision to make. As the three descended from Gamaken Naruto asked, "How are you guys doing on chakra?"

Sakura responded, "I've used about two thirds of my chakra."

Sasuke shrugged, "I haven't used much ninjutsu I'm fine."

Naruto said, "I'm not doing well on chakra myself, I can probably create one more batch of clones and get off one more jutsu and then I'm on empty. Gamaken eats up a lot!"

Team 7 raced toward an entrance with heavy fighting. That entrance happened to be the one where Hiashi was attempting to clear by himself. The Hyuga clan head had made a good start killing several of the chunin threats however his jonin opponent had picked up on his desire to keep his family safe and was directing attacks in their direction. The crowd itself kept trying to push forward despite the battle which put his daughters in danger. Several times he had to put himself in the path of an attack and rely on Kaiten instead of taking out threats. The rapid use of Kaiten over and over was badly winding him and the Suna and Oto squads sensed blood in the air.

Hinata was doing her best to keep the crowd back and her sister safe. Normally she had crippling shyness but if she didn't stop the crowd they would die horribly, she found her courage and shouted at them to stop and physically pushed back some of them who still tried to come on. Hanabi screamed as a fire jutsu roared at her only for Hiashi once more interposed himself, this time his Kaiten was a fraction too slow to begin and his arm was scorched. Hinata was convinced she was about to watch her father die when team seven arrived.

At first Hinata wanted to scream at Naruto to get away but the one Naruto turned into a dozen and Sasuke and Sakura streamed in behind him. Half of the remaining chunin turned to face the new threat. The Naruto clones dashed forward and threw kunai ahead of them. Then they drew the katana and sliced forward faster than expected. One chunin went down to a katana through the belly that was followed up by Sakura's kunai taking his eye.

The chunin counter attacked. Another puppet user had a puppet that fired senbon needles out of its arms. Sasuke stepped forward in front of his teammates and battered away the majority of the senbon with his Sharingan enhanced reflexes. A couple of clones dissipated into smoke but the rest got revenge on the puppet and tore it to shreds with their blades. Naruto dodged away from a chunin with a scimitar; with his chakra depleted he pulled out his katana and desperately blocked the lighting fast strikes. Here Naruto's lack of skill with the blade was impacting him. It was only his superior speed and defensive approach that kept him alive.

However Naruto had the advantage of a team that worked together. Sakura saw Naruto's difficulty and immediately blocked the descending scimitar with her kunai; Naruto had seen her move and knew his next action instinctually. Instead of trying to block the scimitar racing for his chest he ignored it and launched his own attack. The enemy shinobi's blade was blocked by Sakura's kunai and he wouldn't be able to use it to defend himself. Instead Naruto's blade nearly skewered him if it wasn't for his quick side step. As it was the unexpected attack caused him to be on his back foot and Naruto pressed his advantaged clanging down with superior strength. The Suna shinobi felt his arm growing numb and tried to escape the fight but Sakura had moved around opposite of him. He called out for help from his companions but they busy dealing with the clones the Hyuga clan head and Sasuke.

Caught between the two of them the shinobi tried to rush through a Kawarimi but at the last instant Naruto's katana sliced open his torso, he appeared 15 feet away with a gash across his chest and promptly keeled over bleeding out. Sasuke shouted, **"Katon: Karyu Endan"** (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet) and unleashed a Katon jutsu with allowed him direct the flames towards multiple opponents. While only one chunin was burned, all of them and the jonin had to move to avoid it. This gave the Hyuga clan head a much needed opportunity to drive forward and go to work with his gentle fist style.

Hinata was amazed at what she was seeing. Team 7 had struck forcefully and the tide had been turned in less than a minute. The idea that another genin team could have such an impact was shocking. The enemy squads called in for backup not realizing that their backup had already been called to the other exit team 7 had just come from! The Suna jonin cursed and beat a retreat as he saw another two chunin under his command have their internal organs liquefied by the Hyuga. With no reinforcements in the vicinity it was a lost cause.

*****BREAK*****

Elsewhere in the village the leaf was beginning to strike back. The famous Ino-Shika-Cho combination of the previous generation had reunited and wrecked havoc on the invading forces. Jiraiya had summoned his own massive toad atop the one snake summon that had been successfully unleashed. Chunin squads were beginning to take back control over the breached areas and pressured the Oto and Suna invading forces. While other shinobi villages talked about teamwork, Konoha lived it.

The only area of concern was what was happening in the arena. The Hokage was still trapped by the barrier jutsu and there was a rampaging biju who was turning the arena into a wasteland. The leaf forces had just now managed to break the stranglehold on the exits around the arena but the casualties for the civilians who had tried to flee were horrendous.

The Ichibi was focused on crushing the green fly who kept stinging him with brutal kicks and punches that would have turned a normal beast into a broken mess. The Ichibi was a demon and the sand continually reformed any wounded appendages. Gai pushed his body further and opened the Gate of Limit the 5th gate. Gai had to be careful of the destructive energies the gates would do to his body.

Gai's strikes were tearing through the sand in massive bursts and the Ichibi was becoming more and more enraged and more and more desperate to squash the green bug. It began gathering black and white chakra to use the **Bijudama** (Tailed Beast Ball) that would literally obliterate the ground beneath his feet and obliterate the fly. Gai was desperate to stop the attack, while the evacuation now going well it was not complete and the blast would surely kill everyone and destroy everything nearby.

Gai opened up the sixth gate the Gate of View. Gai's skin rippled with energy and he dashed up one of the limbs of the great beast and unleashed **Asa** **Kujaku** (Morning Peacock). A blistering barrage of punches smashed into the Ichibi. Flames fanned into the air from the sheer friction of the attack as sand parted like water before a tornado. The biju stumbled back from the explosive force and the black and white chakra dissipated.

But the beast was not yet defeated. The fearsome aspect of the Ichibi is that it repaired damaged swiftly. Gai had pushed his body to the brink and kept on going but soon the damage to his skin and flesh would take him out of the fight. No one else in the arena had the power or the strength to deal with this threat. Gai contemplated making the ultimate sacrifice and opening up the last two gates.

Before he could do that Kakashi arrived on the scene. Kakashi had done his research ever since Naruto had spotted Gaara in the village prior to the chunin exams. He knew that the jinchuuriki of the desert unleashed the full biju power by going to sleep. By attacking the host the demon could be defeated. Kakashi rushed next to Gai and said, "Keep him busy a little longer, I'll put it down." Kakashi then used the shunshin to move away from Gai and the smashing sand appendage that was aimed at him. Gai dodged and gave Kakashi a big thumbs up and a nice guy grin before returning his full attention to staying alive.

Kakashi raced along the body of the Ichibi. Kakashi's focus was intense but he almost missed his opportunity as he saw the barrier dissipate and a wound Orochimaru flee the scene. The third hokage lay still and unmoving on the roof but Kakashi suppressed his horror and raced toward the red headed boy from Suna.

Shukaku was still focusing on smashing the green pest whose attacks had started to pain it so much that he ignored the threat of another ant crawling up his body. That proved to be a pivotal mistake as Kakashi pulled in chakra into his palm and unleashed his **Raikiri** (Lightning Blade – think Chidori but better) into Gaara's skull. The blade had pierced the sand around the boy like it wasn't even there. The violent assassination jutsu did its job and obliterated Gaara's head. Shukaku screamed in frustration and then dissipated. Death was not final for biju but it would take years for the creature to reform.

After dealing with the jinchuuriki Kakashi rushed to where the Hokage has fallen. Kakashi checked for signs of life and saw that there were none. Kakashi wanted to mourn his fallen leader. He was a man who he didn't always agree with but one that he could not help but admire. But he couldn't he had to make sure his team was safe, that his village was safe. Only then could he mourn. Murder flashed within his eyes, Orochimaru was gone but the Suna and Oto shinobi were still in the village and surrender wasn't going to be an option when Kakashi got to them.

**AN:** And that ends the invasion of Konoha the aftermath is next.


	17. Chapter 16: Aftermath

**AN: **Wow I really appreciate all of the kind comments. Thank You!

Chapter 16: Aftermath

The damage to Konohagakure was great. Chief among the dead was the beloved third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. The legendary 'god of shinobi' was a stable rock that the leaf had taken comfort in. And now that rock had been shattered. All of the leaf mourned. Some cried, some became depressed and some were angry. It had been one of their own who had done the deed, Orochimaru.

The list of casualties was quite long. Primarily it had been civilians both foreign and domestic who had died in the arena but the shinobi causalities also affected the leaf. Primarily it had been genin and chunin who had suffered but a couple of jonin had also died. Others had their shinobi careers ended due to injuries. Ebisu had been severely injured but with time he would return to the active duty roster. His face however would always be scarred from taking the point blank fire jutsu.

The immediate need was to select a new Hokage. Since Hiruzen did not leave a chosen successor it would be up to the greater Konoha council to select one. Technically speaking the Fire Daimyo would appoint someone based on their recommendation but the true power in the Land of Fire were its shinobi. And even with the Fire Daimyo's recommendation it had to be ratified by the village jonin. The Fire Daimyo was not without ability to manipulate the shinobi, withholding funds and missions were within his power but the land of fire had a cordial relationship between the Daimyo and the hidden village so this was unlikely. Put simply whoever the Konoha council chose, assuming the jonin would ratify him, would be selected.

The council had a few choices. Some were in favor of Danzo, primarily the old guard. He was a seasoned veteran and had almost been chosen once before. Danzo was not trusted by all and was actively disliked by some of the leaf's most powerful shinobi so his chances were not looking good. With Jiraiya speaking out against Danzo, it was highly unlikely he could gather the necessary support. The next potential candidate was Kakashi Hatake. An S class shinobi with a mission success rate equal to none. While some had been irritated at him for pulling the wool over their eyes about his team's strength it could be forgiven given how effective he had made his team.

The problem with Kakashi was that he didn't want the hat and had made it clear he would refuse it if offered. The most favored candidate was Jiraiya the legendary toad sage. He was the third Hokage's student and was considered the most powerful shinobi in the village. Unfortunately he also didn't want to take the hat but he did have a plan. Kakashi, Jiraiya, and the full Konoha council gathered to discuss who should be the next Hokage as well as what needed to happen immediately for the security of the village. The full council consisted of the clan heads the honored elders and the jonin commander who in this case also represented his clan.

Kakashi spoke, "Selecting a Hokage is of critical importance however in the interim we need to deal with has occurred. Our village was assaulted by Otogakure and Sunagakure; it has weakened us and makes us a tempting target for Kumo and Iwa." Shikaku Nara the jonin commander responded, "We have tightened security as much as we can. Jonin are regularly joining the normal chunin patrols. Any aggression will be detected immediately."

Kakashi inclined his head, "Good but something more must be done. We must teach our enemies that Konoha cannot be attacked with impunity. Destroy Oto and make Suna pay for its betrayal." Tsume Inuzuka the clan head of the Inuzuka growled in agreement. "I'll support that, are you campaigning for my vote Kakashi?" Kakashi glowered at her briefly, "I told everyone earlier I should not be the Hokage. I am needed in the field and I have my students to train." Sensing another potential derailment Jiraiya spoke up, "We are in no position to strike back. If Iwa or Kumo decide to take advantage of our current state it would be fatal if we had shinobi en route to fight another village. And why Suna? They were tricked by Orochimaru."

"Because they attacked us," Kakashi retorted. "They raised that monster and used it on our village, the plan was bloodthirsty. It was designed to cause maximum death not simply defeat and conquer us but to massacre as many people as possible. Their willing contribution demands retaliation."

Shikaku shook his head, "Even if you're right Kakashi-san we still don't have the manpower to make that a reality."

"I'm not talking about invasion; send me and my team to Suna and give us free reign. Suna won't recover for a generation."

The council murmured at this. Kakashi sounded confident and more than a little cold. Jiraiya looked concerned. He would have expected such bloodthirsty talk from Danzo not from Kakashi. Jiraiya stood from his chair, "Kakashi, enough. All of us are angry at Suna but they aren't a threat at this time. Sound could be, and Kumo and Iwa may be. We need to focus on defense first."

Kakashi looked Jiraiya dead in the eye, "Punishing Sunagakure will act as a deterrent to the other hidden villages. If we have a strong Hokage that could deter threats as well but if we dawdle in our selection…" Jiraiya's eyes widened, 'That convening little brat, he wants to force me to take the hat. I never should have told him about my plan to bring back Tsunade!'

Shikaku saw some sort of interplay between the two S class shinobi and tried to figure out what was going on. His mind had already thought about have a dozen potential scenarios but without more information it would be impossible to tell what kind of game was being played. Danzo spoke up, "Hatake-san makes a valid point. We must strike back at those who defiled the sanctity of our home. I have the resolve to see this done."

Hiashi Hyuga looked at Kakashi and wondered what the man was up to. He knew Kakashi didn't want Danzo as the Hokage why then was he towing the old war hawks position? Danzo's pronouncement was a bold challenge and as of yet no one had taken it up. Jiraiya was the first to respond. "No Danzo, sensei was clear that you should not become the hokage." Jiraiya paused for dramatic effect before continuing. "Who better then a Sanin? Who better than an apprentice of the Sandaime to carry out his legacy?" The council grew excited, if Jiraiya wanted the hat he would get it.

Jiraiya stared out steadily at the council, "Who better then the granddaughter of the first hokage? Tsunade Senju!" Koharu, one of Hiruzen's honored advisors raised her voice, "She abandoned the village, she is not fit to be Hokage!" The assembled clan heads were of mixed opinion. The name Senju was highly regarded even if Tsunade had not assisted the leaf in the last decade she had served honorably in the last great shinobi war. And none doubted her strength.

Jiraiya stared down Koharu, "Tsunade is the words best medical nin. Her power in a fight is my equal. Our enemies would not dare attack a village with two of the Sanin in it." He glanced over to Kakashi, "There is your deterrent against further action." Kakashi snorted, "Pretty speech Jiraiya-Sama but if they dared attack when the third Hokage, you, myself and Gai were here adding Tsunade as a replacement for the Sandaime is hardly convincing."

Jiraiya ground his teeth in frustration. Kakashi was messing with plan. What Kakashi said made sense but he could have convinced the clan council with the passion of his words. Kakashi's cold logic and calculated derision of his statement had shattered the momentum he had been building. Jiraiya sensed a trap but couldn't help it, "Then what do you suggest Kakashi?"

Kakashi gave him an eye smile, "I'm willing to have Tsunade lead us but she's been away for a decade, there is no guarantee she will accept and then we will back to where we started." He looked around the council, "Select a Hokage now in case Tsunade does not return. Whoever that candidate will be will be Hokage if Tsunade doesn't return in a predetermined time." Jiraiya blinked, "And who are you recommending Kakashi?"

Kakashi looked at his sensei's sensei and spoke, "I think you said it best. Who better than a Sanin? Either you or Tsunade." Jiraiya grumbled to himself and looked around the room. He supposed he had gotten what he wanted, with Kakashi's backing he would bring in much of the jonin support. If he could convince Tsunade to come home and take the hat all would be well. However if Tsunade refused it would have to be him. "Very well I will be the Hokage if I cannot convince Tsunade to return." But he was going to have words with Kakashi afterwards.

*****BREAK*****

The few survivors of the Suna contingent had almost made it back to Sunagakure. They had learned of the fate of Gaara and had also learned that very few of their comrades had been taken prisoner. Baki led the dispirited group. They had been tricked by Orochimaru, their Kazekage was dead and their best shinobi killed. His student Temari was taking everything particularly hard.

Her brother tried to cheer her up. "Temari I know losing father and so many of our comrades is hard but at least we don't have to worry about Gaara anymore." Temari snapped her head around and looked at Kankuro. Rage filled her eyes followed by hot tears. "He was our brother! None of this was his fault! He was driven insane by that demon and you don't care. And now he's dead and he will always be remembered as a monster. And you're happy about that? You're the monster!"

Kankuro wasn't sure what surprised him more. That his sister's calm and confident self control had been so utterly shattered or her impassioned defense of Gaara. Gaara had been a monster, he had threatened them with death countless times and they had lived in terror of his wrath. Regardless of who deserved the blame the simple fact was that his reign of terror over them had ended.

Kankuro turned away from his sister; she wasn't going to listen to reason at this moment. Temari knelt down and sobbed, "He was our baby brother and we couldn't protect him. He didn't deserve his life; no one could deserve the hell he was put through." Kankuro snapped, "And we didn't deserve the hell our lives have been because of him! Damn it Temari you want me to feel sorry for him? How many people did he kill without thinking twice?"

Temari shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. "Just leave me be. Let me mourn my brother." Kankuro snarled he had been trying to do just that! He stalked away leaving his sister alone. Baki kept the column moving but stopped a half mile away giving Temari privacy but allowing her to catch up easily once she regained control. The weathered jonin could give her that much at least.

*****BREAK*****

Orochimaru hissed with pain cursing his useless arms. He was angry that he had suffered such an injury at the hands of his sensei. He was furious that Konoha had withstood his attack. He was enraged that Kabuto had utterly failed his function as a spy.

"Kabuto! You told me that Sasuke was an inferior specimen. That he had failed to unlock the Sharingan and that he was a complete waste of time."

Kabuto knelt before his master and apologized, "Forgive me Lord Orochimaru. Kakashi was able to trick me and all of Konoha about Sasuke's abilities."

Orochimaru wanted to kill his foolish servant for failing so completely but he knew that he needed him. And despite his failure he was still very useful to him. Orochimaru subsided for the moment, "I want Sasuke, I need his Sharingan."

"Lord Orochimaru that will be difficult. Sharingan no Kakashi can defeat me and without your arms he may be a threat to you."

"Kukuku, then we'll just have to repair my arms. Then Sasuke will be mine."

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi did not have much time for his students. He informed Naruto to help as much as he could with the repairs with his Kage Bunshin and then to train with the rest of his team. Part of the training was to analyze each of the battles they faced and look at what worked and what could have been more efficient.

Team 7 dutifully carried out this task with Naruto and Sasuke clashing sometimes on what would have been the better strategy. Sakura had to struggle not to roll her eyes, 'Boys,' she thought to herself. Sakura was called on to be a tie breaker. That at least was nice. Sakura understood why Kakashi was having them do this but in reality she was still in awe of what they had accomplished.

As genin they had taken on a dozen shinobi more experienced than they were. Then they helped face an additional eight shinobi half of which were jonin in rank. After driving them back they went on into another fight and saved the Hyuga clan head and his daughters. As genin. Sakura shivered. The village were talking about them in awed whispers, they were being heralded as this generations Sanin. Was she worthy of their respect? Could she ever compare herself to Tsunade as a kunoichi?

Sakura focused back on the discussion slash debate that was occurring between Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura put her foot down, "All right. Kakashi asked us to analyze the battle and we've done it twice now. Are you ready to actually get some training in or are you all secretly part of the Nara clan?" Naruto laughed and Sasuke responded with a, "Hnn." Sakura brandished a kunai, "No clones allowed, come get me you two." Sakura leapt away and the chase was on.

Sakura dropped a smoke bomb and layered a Genjutsu that showed her leaping away from them out of the smoke cloud. Naruto chased after but Sasuke saw through the Genjutsu and entered the smoke. Sakura leaped back and away as Sasuke came in fast. Sasuke began to chase and Sakura bounded from tree to tree. She heard Naruto's loud "Damn it!" and couldn't help but laugh.

Sasuke fired **"Raiton: Shokku"** (Lighting Release: Jolt) at Sakura's back but she had felt the chakra gathering and had used the substitution technique freeing herself from harm. She saw Naruto come back into the field and shouted out, "Naruto she's using a Genjutsu to look like me and me to look like her!" Sasuke did a double take as Naruto careened toward him. A fierce taijutsu battle ensued for the next few seconds until Naruto realized Sakura didn't fight like his current opponent. He backed up and Sasuke cursed, "Dobe!"

Sakura meanwhile had fled deeper into the wooded area. Most of her Genjutsu wouldn't work on Sasuke so she made Naruto her target. She took the most direct route and tagged one of the limbs with an explosive seal, it exploded well before her pursuers arrived but now they didn't have that tree limb to push off of forcing them to use a less efficient route. Sakura taunted them as they chased, "Its two on one how hard can this be?" Sasuke powered chakra into his soles and rocketed forward.

Sakura dropped another smoke bomb obscuring her and Sasuke from Naruto's view. She called out, "This time she did it for real Naruto!" Naruto paused; he wasn't going to fall for it again. Naruto believed Sakura didn't actually use a Genjutsu he should go after the one that looked like Sakura. 'Sakura most think I'm an idiot! Well I'll show her… wait a second. She knows I won't fall for the same trick twice so this time she did use a Genjutsu hoping to fool me.' As soon as Naruto saw Sasuke who he thought was Sakura he sent a flying kick at him. Sasuke blocked the kick but it knocked him off course and sent him tumbling into a tree.

"DOBE," Sasuke yelled at Naruto as Sakura began speeding away again. Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. 'Ugh not again, I'm just going to release my chakra before doing anything when I face her.' Naruto decided to do so now just in case, "Kai" and his chakra was pushed out however nothing changed so he was fairly certain he was not in a Genjutsu. Sasuke and Naruto chased back after Sakura.

In Sasuke's tumble he had lost tracked of Sakura for an instant. While his dojutsu was nearly impossible to get away from as long as he kept someone in line of sight if the target crossed outside of his vision he could lose track. However both he and Naruto could see the damaged foliage and slightly damaged bark from Sakura pushing off with chakra. They heard Sakura's voice form up ahead, "The great toad summoner and the last Uchiha sure are taking a long time dealing with one little kunoichi!"

They pushed forward listening to more taunts. Sasuke's sharingan swept around and then he paused, Sakura's tracks were gone but her voice was still coming. Naruto saw Sasuke slow and immediately shouted, "Kai" and released his chakra. Sasuke twitched, "Would you stop doing that!" Naruto countered, "Do you want to get kicked again? I don't have cheating eyes to help me see through her Genjutsu!"

"Cheating eyes? It is the honorable dojutsu of my clan! It is not cheating!"

Naruto smirked at his riled up comrade, "Well lead the way then… cheater."

Sasuke backtracked to where he had last seen disturbed bark and concentrated. 'Clever Sakura, she stopped using chakra all together and landed behind that tree, I can tell from the few slightly bent blades of grass that she went on foot. She couldn't have gone far if she's not using chakra to speed herself.' Sasuke had picked her trail and Naruto followed him. Every now and then he heard a "Kai" from behind him and he felt his eye spasm. 'Damn it I will not pick up my sensei's facial tic! I refuse!'

Sakura saw the two coming and tossed another smoke bomb. Naruto used the shunshin to race inside the smoke and shouted, **"Futon: Reppusho" **(Wind Release: Gale Palm). This immediately dissipated the smoke and Sasuke surged forward toward Sakura. Sakura dodged the first few strikes but Sasuke was sending punches at a rapid rate, abusing his superior speed. Sakura was forced to back up. Naruto shouted, "Kai" one more time and then leapt down after them. Sakura was in a bad spot in between the two of them and used Kawarimi to swap places with a log. However she wasn't quite fast enough and Sasuke hit her with a knife hand strike to her ribs which bruised them before she was able to replace herself.

Up atop the tree she grunted in pain. Naruto raced along the ground after her and Sasuke charged up the tree. Holding her side Sakura leapt away aiming for a nearby tree. A chakra blade whizzed underneath her and cut through the limb completely. This meant her landing spot was gone. She was in for a hard landing. Quickly she took a kunai that had ninja wire threaded in it launched it at another tree so she could swing around without crashing into the forest floor.

Sasuke saw the speed and trajectory of Sakura's swing and met her half way in mid air. With her momentum forced in one direction Sakura could only block and the bone jarring force of Sasuke's punch forced her guard down, his other arm rushed forward with a kunai and gently sliced her shoulder calling an end to the impromptu spar. If he had wanted to it could have been a kill strike and they all knew it.

Sakura dropped down and brushed off her hands. Naruto eyed the two of them and put his hands together and shouted, "Kai!" Sakura's mouth quirked. Then a giggle escaped. Then a laugh and soon and soon she was clutching her side. After having faced so much death, the loss of their hokage and all the negative emotions that came with it she couldn't help but now laugh Naruto's antics. Her laughter proved infectious and Sasuke despite himself chuckled. Naruto growled at them before giving in and also laughing.

It had been the first time Naruto had laughed since the death of his jiji. He would always miss the old man but he knew he had a place in the world. His circle of precious people had now gone beyond the old man, a small ramen stand and Iruka. He had friends his own age, ones who he could laugh with. Ones who had his back just as he had theirs. He hoped that wherever the old man was now he could see that Naruto was going to be all right.

*****BREAK*****

Jiraiya spoke privately with Kakashi when the others left. "What the hell was that?" Kakashi responded, "By phrasing the discussion in the way I did it left no doubt that a Sanin would be chosen. This froze all other candidates out of the running guaranteeing that Danzo or someone else was not selected." Jiraiya threw up his hands, "That wasn't necessary I was just building up my charismatic plea for Tsunade being the Hokage!"

Kakashi shrugged, "My way was better, now there will be no fruitless speculation about who will be the Hokage if Tsunade doesn't return. Our energies can be put to more productive uses." Jiraiya frowned, "She will return."

"Maybe but she's acted like trash for the last 10 years I don't think that's going to change."

"Watch it boy, Tsunade is my teammate and I won't listen to you bad mouth her."

Kakashi sighed, "Your loyalty to your comrade is commendable but objectively speaking she has abandoned you and the leaf. If she wasn't Hiruzen's student she would have been recalled or made a missing nin. It was a foolish waste to not have her in the village."

The toad sage clicked his tongue, "Kakashi she's given everything to the village and it's brought her nothing but despair. She deserved some time away from death and misery."

"And the Sandaime didn't deserve to die that way! Maybe if she been here that wouldn't have happened."

"Enough," Jiraiya forced himself not to attack Kakashi. That last comment had been a low blow. He looked at Kakashi, even without the mask he doubted he would be able to read him. "You never do anything without a reason. What are you driving at Kakashi?"

The younger jonin waited before responding. "I'm not convinced Tsunade will make a good Hokage. I'd prefer if you returned unsuccessful and took up the hat. Your spy network is run personally however it can be built along different lines in the future. If by some unlikely chance Tsunade agrees to return you should reconsider making her Hokage. Let her run the Konoha medical program. You inherited your sensei's will of fire not her."

"I'll bring her back and she will be Hokage, that's all there is to it." Jiraiya saw Kakashi turn to leave and he stopped him. "Wait Kakashi there are two other issues." Kakashi quirked an eyebrow and waited. "You seem upset with Suna and you are priming the rest of the leaf for action against Sunagakure with your talk at the meeting, why?" Kakashi considered his response and finally decided to go with the truth.

"Sunagakure is weaker than ever before. The Kazekage was killed along with his elite ANBU guard. They lost a minimum of 1/3 of their entire chunin force and close to half of their jonin. Outside of one elder there is no one considered S rank within Suna. Jiraiya glared, "All the more reason that attacking them would be a waste of time. They aren't a threat to us now."

"They are weak which makes the attack very likely to work. My plan will cripple Suna for a generation; they will lose their status as being one of the five great hidden villages. That is the message that would be sent. Attack Konoha and your village will suffer irreparable harm." Jiraiya rubbed his chin. Kakashi made sense from a cold hearted perspective. The toad sage did not like it; all this counterattack would do would fan the flames of hatred for another generation. "And what of Otogakure," Jiraiya countered. "They are most responsible, Orochimaru is the mastermind."

"Success is less likely. We don't have intelligence on all of Orochimaru's hidden bases. We don't know how strong he is, even weakened he is still more formidable then anyone in Suna. And most importantly destroying a no name village will mean nothing to Iwa and Kumo. Taking down a major power will make them notice."

"You may be right but my answer is no, and I'd appreciate it if you kept quiet about your idea."

"When you are the Hokage I'll obey you until then, I'll take your advice into consideration but won't promise anything," Kakashi responded. "Now I believe you had one last item you wished to discuss?"

"I'm taking Naruto with me to get Tsunade."

Kakashi had remained relatively emotionless during the conversation but now heat entered his voice. "No. I've been apart from my team for a month – I need them together forming bonds that will last a lifetime. I will not allow you to split team 7."

Jiraiya looked at Kakashi with compassion, "Kid, it shouldn't take more than a month or two at the most. Well it can't take more than 2 months with the time limit you initiated."

Kakashi retorted, "It will ruin their teamwork. Even while I was gone I ensured any new skills they learned were incorporated in their battle strategies. This is a critical stage in their development. Two months is too long, they must remain together."

Jiraiya frowned, "I had intended to only take Naruto but if need be I don't mind taking the other two along as well." Kakashi paused at the offer and then responded, "Then let me go with you. It won't be long before the world knows of Naruto's parentage. Between the two of us he will be safe."

"And Konoha will not be safe if we both leave Kakashi. And why are you worried about people finding out about Naruto's father?"

Kakashi blinked. 'Isn't it obvious,' he thought to himself. "He has blond hair and blue eyes. He has a similar build as his father. He apprenticed under you for a month. His sensei's own sensei is Minato. He has signed the toad contract. You've taught him the Rasengan as well, it should be easy for anyone to piece together who is father is."

Jiraiya laughed, "Kakashi you're a bright kid but you are still inexperienced." Kakashi was in his 20's so he considered it fair for Jiraiya who was twice his age to call him a kid. There would be a time when he would have been angry at the statement; his pride would have made him react instead of sitting back and actually listening to potential wisdom. Pride killed and Kakashi refused to ever bow to pride again.

"In what way?"

"You would piece it together but most of the world doesn't have your mind. It is wise to never underestimate your opponent but at times you overestimate the intelligence of the shinobi world. Based on my travels I can virtually guarantee you that no will piece together the clues and determined Naruto is the son of Minato."

Kakashi considered the sage's response. Had he been overly worried? Possibly, after all much of the shinobi in the world did act with a high degree of foolishness. Boastful taunting, explaining abilities in the middle of a fight and other idiocy was rampant among shinobi from all of the villages. It had been shocking to Kakashi while he was in ANBU that there were no detailed after action analysis on where shinobi could have made different decisions in battle.

In fact when he had introduced the concept as a new ANBU captain his squad had felt attacked and belittled by the exercise. Insanity, who wouldn't want to have their mistakes uncovered? By knowing those mistakes and examining the cause of them they could prevent them in future battles! It would keep themselves and their comrades alive. It had been an exercise in frustration for Kakashi. This was the reason he had pounded self analysis and acceptance of critique into the heads of his young genin team.

"Perhaps you are correct; however it is still a risk and other threats could seek to harm them. Sasuke is an Uchiha; many villages would love to have the heir of the Uchiha clan, not to mention Itachi might want to finally finish the job he started."

Kakashi did not know that Itachi was loyal to the leaf. That was a closely guarded secret that only Jiraiya, Danzo, Koharu and Homura were privy to. Jiraiya briefly considered letting Kakashi know but chose not to. Hiruzen had made that decision before and he didn't feel it was his place to speak without giving the matter more thought. Instead Jiraiya responded, "I will protect them Kakashi. I am the great toad sage, one of the legendary Sanin. Nothing is going to happen on my watch."

Kakashi knew that Jiraiya had more pull then he did. His team was going with him outside of drastic action that Kakashi wasn't prepared to take. Furthermore sending both of the leaf's best shinobi out of the village during this dangerous time was an unconscionable risk. "I'll hold you to that Jiraiya. As much as I enjoy your books there had better not be any 'research' going on. Team seven will be a target after what happened during the invasion. Keep your guard up the entire time." A solemn look came over the old sage's face, "I get it. I'll keep them safe, you have my word. I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon I suggest you tell them tonight."

Kakashi nodded and left. He wasn't pleased with spending more time away from his team but his hands were tied. Perhaps being away from the village would be good for the three of them. Since they were now the talk of the village it could cause them to get swelled heads and allow their egos to grow. 'You had better keep your promise Jiraiya.'

*****BREAK*****

Shadowy figures discussed recent events. A voice broke over the group of dangerous S class missing nin. "The Ichibi host is dead and the one tail will not reform for another three years. Do not make any moves against any jinchuuriki until the Ichibi rises." A voice responded, "What will do in the mean time?"

"Preparations will be made, orders will come shortly." The impromptu astral meeting ended and the Akatsuki members awaited further instructions.

**AN: **One part of the anime that always made me wonder is why the Akatsuki waited the three years to step up their game. With Gaara dead and the Ichibi not able to reform for those three years the Akatsuki waiting makes perfect sense.


	18. Chapter 17: Fuinjutsu

**AN: **Awesome I broke the 100 review mark! Thank you to everyone who reviewed.

**Chapter 17:** Fuinjutsu

Kakashi met up with his team that afternoon. He told the team their new mission and their reactions were mixed. Naruto found the toad sage's training helpful but he missed Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke knew Jiraiya was considered the most dangerous shinobi in Konoha but Kakashi had proven to be an excellent sensei beyond his wildest expectations.

Sakura however was thrilled. Not that she disliked Kakashi, not it was the mission itself she was in love with. To actually meet Tsunade-Sama the strongest kunoichi Konoha had ever produced, it was an amazing opportunity! Kakashi was talking again bringing her out of her day dream. "I know you will be with Jiraiya-Sama but stay on your guard. Konoha has suffered greatly and our enemies will likely be sniffing for weakness. Stay alert at all times, understood?"

"Hai Kakashi-Sensei," the three genin responded.

Kakashi sparred with them and was impressed with their progress. Afterwards he told his team, "Use your time with Jiraiya wisely, you won't be able to train extensively with him since you will be traveling but insist on a least some training." Kakashi looked from Naruto to Sasuke and then to Sakura, "Jiraiya is a seal master. It would be wise if someone on the team learned the art of fuinjutsu."

Sakura asked, "Who should it be?" Kakashi replied, "I suggest all of you try your hand at it and whoever does the best should work on it. Fuinjutsu is… annoying to me since its more art than science. I have a basic understanding of all of the basic seals but the more complex ones are beyond me." Kakashi elaborated, "The higher order formula require more than a logical understanding of the process, you have to have the right 'touch' as my sensei described it." It had been a maddening experience for Kakashi who had mastered everything else he tried to learn as a shinobi. Advanced Fuinjutsu didn't behave logically to Kakashi and he had been unable to become a seal master. He often wondered if it was latent bloodline ability like a kekkei genkai, and those who didn't have the bloodline could only progress so far. 'It would explain why certain people were simply seal geniuses, if it's true Naruto will do well.'

The team agreed that it made sense for them each to learn it. Even if they didn't master it knowing how to fight a fuinjutsu specialist was important. While it wasn't used in battle often it could be very effective. Most shinobi were only familiar with seals because they held jinchuuriki in check and that they were used in the creation of explosive tags. Most shinobi simply purchased sealing scrolls and explosive tags and learned nothing else of the art. Kakashi hoped one of them would take to it as it would fully round out his team's abilities.

Kakashi bid them all a good night and said, "You have made me proud to be your jonin sensei. I expect all of you to be stronger when you return. I'll be discharging my debt to Kurenai before you return so when you do make it back we are going to start doing some missions." Team seven shared a grin. They were excited about going on more advanced missions. The fight during the invasion of Konoha by sound and sand had filled them with confidence. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask as his team ran off to their individual homes. He felt good about the job he had done with them, he just wished he couldn't give over a nagging feeling that they were heading into danger.

'Maybe everyone is right I am acting paranoid. Then again just because you are paranoid doesn't mean there aren't people out to get you…'

*****BREAK*****

Team seven gathered to leave the village. To everyone's surprise they were met at the gates by Hiashi Hyuga and his two daughters. Hinata was blushing and nervous while Hanabi had a big smile on her face. Hiashi was formal as always and said, "Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno my family owes you a debt of gratitude. Hiashi gently inclined his head and gave his thanks. Hinata followed saying, "T-thank y-you all for s-saving us. Hiashi glared out of the corner of his eye at his eldest daughter. Her stammering was disgraceful in his eyes. Hanabi also bowed her head, "Thank you!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Sakura smiled warmly and replied, "We were simply doing our duty Hiashi-Sama. It was an honor to help protect the noble Hyuga clan." Sasuke knew his clan had an old rivalry with the Hyuga but here was the clan head giving thanks so instead of making a disparaging remark Sasuke simply said, "Killing the enemies of Konoha was our pleasure, think nothing of it."

Clan honor done Hiashi wished team seven good fortunate with their mission. Hinata blushed furiously and said in a rush, "G-good luck Naruto!" Naruto thanked her as she turned and hurried after her father and sister. Naruto blinked for a few moments. Naruto had studied the village with a pair of clones all day and everyday he was in Konoha since joining team seven. By no means was he a master of human behavior but he was able to pick up on some not so subtle clues. "Did you guys know Hinata, um, likes me?"

Sakura barely suppressed her giggle, "I guess it does make sense. She always acted nervous around you. She also never went after Sasuke-kun." Sasuke absolutely did not want to get into a conversation about what girls liked which guys; he had enough of girls and their endless matchmaking. "Hnn there is Jiraiya-Sama let's go." Sakura didn't want to aggravate Sasuke so she kept silent however she was absolutely going to be talking to Naruto about Hinata later.

Jiraiya couldn't help himself. He clapped Naruto on the back, "All right got a fan huh? I'll make sure you teach you exactly how to keep the ladies coming." Sakura blinked. 'No I couldn't have heard that right.' Sakura looked at the tall legendary shinobi, "Hello Jiraiya-Sama it is a pleasure to meet you." Jiraiya waved her off, "None of that formal stuff, I am the great toad sage but I don't need any honorifics with traveling companions." Naruto, irritated at Jiraiya's earlier comment said, "Besides you really should call him by his real title, Pervy Sage." Jiraiya halfheartedly attempted to backhand the boy who ducked and then leapt backwards. "I told you to stop calling me that!"

Sasuke wasn't quite sure what to make of Jiraiya. The man's reputation was legendary but he acted like… well he acted like Naruto! Then again Gai acted ridiculous and he was a powerful shinobi. Sasuke walked up to Jiraiya and respectfully introduced himself. Jiraiya considered the boy before him; he was different than Itachi. Jiraiya knew Itachi would never want the truth to get out. He would keep Itachi's secret but he really thought a mistake was being made.

"All right you three let's get going. I have a few likely places where Tsunade might be and daylight is wasting." Naruto used the Kage Bunshin to create a dozen clones and had them fan out around the group. Jiraiya wanted to sigh, they had barely left the gates of Konoha and Kakashi's pupils were already preparing for the ridiculously unlikely prospect of being attacked. He let them do as they pleased not wanting an argument from the mini Kakashi clones.

Naruto was the first to break the silence along their path. "Pervy sage, we wanted to ask you about fuinjutsu, we want you to teach us." Jiraiya was surprised by this; fuinjutsu was a rare art and a difficult one to master. "All of you?" Sakura and Sasuke nodded. "Why?"

Sakura answered the question, "Kakashi-sensei thought it would enhance our team's strength. If all of us learn the basics we can figure out who is best suited for it and they can focus on it and then add it to the team's arsenal." Jiraiya looked at the three of them skeptically, "A bit advanced for genin." Sasuke simply answered, "We are not typical genin."

"We are going to be travelling I won't have much time to teach but I suppose I can go over the basics." Jiraiya pulled out a pair of books on fuinjutsu; each was quite weathered and worn. "I haven't had someone use these in quite a while. The first volume is theory and the second volume is examples of most basic forms of fuinjutsu, if you have trouble with those then don't even waste time trying to learn more."

The team gave Sasuke first dibs on the book; with his Sharingan he could memorize the pages as he flipped them. Naruto gallantly offered Sakura the next go at it. As they travelled team seven asked Jiraiya about the mission and what the plan was. Jiraiya told them that Tsunade enjoyed gambling and so they were going to be visiting several casinos in the region where she had been spotted. He also gave them a description, one which caused Naruto to look at him quizzically. "She was your teammate, why doesn't she look old like you?" Jiraiya laughed, "Well when you are a powerful kunoichi you have ways to keep up your youthful appearances."

The three genin pestered Jiraiya about his battles but unlike other shinobi their age who wanted to hear tales of epic victories and immerse themselves in the story they kept interrupting to ask about specific battle tactics used. Why he used on jutsu over another, questions on how fast someone was in comparison, how strong, what affinities. "Hey! I write books, I love to talk about my exploits but you are taking all of the fun out of it!"

Naruto mocked, "You write pervy books, don't get a big head. And we are listening to your stories so we can become stronger." The toad sage let out a massive sigh, "You need to live a little, not everything is about becoming stronger." Sasuke responded, "Yes it is." Jiraiya had originally hoped to spend time with his godson and get to know him better instead he was being interrogated like a rookie genin reporting to his jonin after a D ranked mission. Naruto and Sasuke were obsessed with training and becoming stronger and Sakura wasn't too far behind them.

"Fine you slave drivers; I'll give you more specifics."

That evening they set some traps and Sakura laid Genjutsu obscuring their presence. They set watches and Naruto was up first, Sakura volunteered for 2nd watch. While the others fell asleep Sakura smiled at Naruto. "Naruto I wanted to talk to you about Hinata." Naruto groaned, why had he said anything? "There isn't anything to talk about Sakura-chan." Sakura was amused. "Oh yes there is. You have realized Hinata likes you, what are you going to do about it?"

Naruto squirmed but then looked Sakura dead in the eye, "Nothing, I like you Sakura-chan that hasn't changed." Sakura frowned, "Naruto I'm sorry but you know what my feelings are, you should stop getting your hopes up for nothing." Naruto squinted at Sakura and replied, "Are you suggesting that if someone faces rejection they should simply give up? I faced rejected in attempting to be a shinobi and now look at how far I've come. I won't give up."

"That's different! If a person keeps rejecting romantic intentions you should stop, it makes people feel uncomfortable and you'll miss an opportunity to be someone else."

Naruto eyed her and said, "I guess that means you're giving up on Sasuke?"

Sakura's blood turned cold. She had been doing exactly what she had just told Naruto not to do. The pink haired genin looked down. "I want to say that's different but it's not. The only reason I wanted to talk to you was to encourage you to be nice to Hinata and see if you two are good together." Naruto looked at her and grinned, "I'll tell you what Sakura-chan, you agree to go on out on a date with me and afterwards regardless of the outcome I'll also go out on a date with Hinata." Before Sakura could answer Jiraiya jumped out of the bed roll and clapped Naruto on the back.

"I trained you so well! Going out with two women, hey why don't you see if she's all right with having you both go on a date with you at the same time?"

Naruto flushed and yelled, "Damn it pervy sage stop it!" Sakura couldn't help but laugh, apparently Naruto had been telling the truth, the legendary toad sage was a pervert. Sasuke opened his eyes and went into a battle stance then looked around and saw the three of them. He narrowed his eyes, "I am trying to get some sleep. " Jiraiya waved him off, "Simmer down boy, young love is more important than your shut eye." Sakura twitched, "Shut up," she hissed.

Jiraiya was thoroughly amused by the entire situation. Naruto and Sakura were both embarrassed; Sakura went to her bed roll and said, "I'm going to sleep." Naruto gave Jiraiya a glare and Jiraiya backed off and climbed back into his bedroll.

'Sakura never said yes or no,' Naruto thought to himself.

*****BREAK*****

The next morning they continued their journey. Sasuke had finished both books and Sakura was finding the first volume fascinating. She had finished the top of her class in the theoretical portion of being a shinobi. While even the introductory text was complex she could understand it. The basic seals that it taught were applying chakra to ink. The amount of chakra and the combination of the characters would create different effects. All explosive tags or 'paper bombs' were made this way. Storage scrolls worked on the same principal but the chakra needed was different.

Making a storage scroll incorrectly simply made it not function, as long as the mistakes weren't completely absurd. The explosive tags on the other hand were frighteningly dangerous, set up the sealing matrix incorrectly and it would blow up in your face. Or worse it would blow up later at random. Creating explosive tags was something that would require Jiraiya's close supervision.

The introduction book discussed other seals that could be created with fuinjutsu briefly. It didn't go into detail just indicated this is what a true seal master would be capable of. Everything from barrier seals to sealing jinchuuriki. The 4th Hokage's most dangerous jutsu actually involved fuinjutsu. The **Hiraishin no Jutsu** (Flying Thunder God Technique) was often credited as single handedly allowing Konoha to prove victorious in the last shinobi war.

The first location team seven and Jiraiya visited turned out fruitless. However the team was able to purchase sealing paper and ink so they could begin practicing practical fuinjutsu. Sakura finished the first volume while they were travelling to the next village over. She handed it to Naruto who handed it to one of his clones. "Kage Bunshin is great," he cheekily remarked to Sakura. Sakura simply rolled her eyes.

They travelled to another village this time Naruto made a score of Kage Bunshin and had them Henge as civilians. He sent them out with Tsunade's description. Not only would they be able to confirm if she was here they could also get clues where she was headed next. When they finished searching for a day they would work on fuinjutsu.

It became immediately clear that Sakura and Sasuke had an advantage over Naruto. Sasuke used his Sharingan to perfectly copy the amount of chakra and ink strokes needed to create a basic storage seal. Sakura had always had neat penmanship and her chakra control was the best of all of them so she also easily completed the first level storage scroll. Naruto on the other hand failed. Jiraiya looked at Naruto's work and shook his head, "Not bad but your chakra control needs to improve or you'll never be able to make these types of seals work." Naruto ground his teeth, while the fox gave him incredible stamina but it also made so many things difficult.

Naruto kept trying for hours. However he quickly ran out of supplies after several failures. "Crap, pervy sage can I go get more supplies?" Jiraiya shook his head, "This late? Everything is closed. You've been at it for awhile; take a break its time to get some shut eye." Naruto grumbled and complied. Naruto woke up early the next morning and sent a clone racing to the supply store to pink up more ink and scrolls. Team 7 and Jiraiya were off to yet another village.

That evening Naruto worked on the first level storage scroll again. He improved but he was still not shaping his chakra appropriately. Jiraiya had him keep working while he lectured and began the next level of storage seal. "The first storage seal just stored a small amount of material placed into it. It is in effect simply expanding the current area you have within the environment. This means if it is a warm day when the item is stored then the contents within the scroll will feel that warmth consistently throughout the duration they are stored."

Sakura furrowed her brow, "But storage scrolls can hold perishable goods and corpses without them decaying."

"Right you are pinky." Jiraiya had taken to calling her 'pinky' when speaking with Sakura, which Sakura greatly disliked. "The scrolls used by shinobi are more advanced and while you don't have to be a seal master to make them they are far more complex then the little seal you are working on right now. Stasis is fairly advanced, for now we are moving on to the next level scroll which is designed to adjust the environment of the stored area. This seal will allow you to modify the temperature within the storage seal." Jiraiya continued the slightly more advanced level for those two while Naruto continued to falter on the basic storage seal.

Jiraiya was impressed with Sakura and Sasuke's efforts. He could tell the reports of Sasuke's genius were correct; he would have no problems learning the basics of fuinjutsu. However it did remain to be seen if he could learn the more advanced concepts, something that had frustrated and stymied Kakashi. In Sakura he felt a more natural talent; it would not surprise him if she took to fuinjutsu like a duck to water.

When Sasuke and Sakura went to sleep Naruto volunteered for first watch and was still struggling. Jiraiya looked and saw the problems were occurring due to chakra control and frustration. His ink strokes were too firm, driven by anger instead of purpose.

"Frustrated?"

Naruto nodded. "I am. I read that the Uzumaki clan were masters at fuinjutsu. I had hoped that I would do well. I had a flight of fantasy where my parents were looking on as I mastered their clan's most famous art and that they were smiling proudly." Naruto sighed dejectedly.

Jiraiya almost told Naruto about his parents right then and there but he stopped himself. Instead he said, "You just graduated from the academy less than a year ago Naruto. Almost no one teaches genin fuinjutsu, hell most chunin outside of prodigies even go near it. Give it a few years and when you have better chakra control try it again." Naruto nodded, it was good advice. While he thought it would be great if he could be a master in ninjutsu, Genjutsu, kenjutsu, fuinjutsu, medical jutsu and summing jutsu it was a little egotistical to believe he could master every ninja art. And the more time he worked on something that wasn't beneficial for the team the less time he could work on something that was productive.

"All right pervy sage, I guess you deserve the title of sage after all. I will keep studying books on fuinjutsu as I find them; my clones can read them without taking away any time from my training." Naruto looked up with a smile, "Since I'm not going to be learning fuinjutsu from you what _can_ you teach me?"

Jiraiya thought about for a few moments and said, "Well Naruto I've taught you the Rasengan and how to summon toads. So far you seem to really like summoning Gamaken however not all situations require a gigantic battle, sometimes you need subtly and stealth. Or you may be underground or a in a building and you don't want to destroy everything with your summon." Naruto saw that made sense. "So I should summon smaller toads and get to know them?"

"Exactly, right now Gamakichi is too small to be very useful however toads grow very quickly and before you know it he'll be man sized and then even larger." Naruto was surprised by how big the tiny little toad would grow up into. "But first let's have you summon one of my personal friends, Gama." Jiraiya summoned Gama and helped Naruto approximate how much chakra he needed to push into the summoning in order for it to function.

Gama actually didn't say much at all, Jiraiya explained that he was just like that and to not take offense. Gama was larger than a human but could fit in most buildings just fine. In battle he wore samurai style armor and had incredible strength. In addition he was adept at using his tongue to knock weapons out of the air as well as wrap up potential targets.

Naruto practiced until he got the chakra level correct, Gama was a good sport about it. Or at least Naruto thought he was because he never said a word. Naruto was happy at learning something productive and wished his teammates good luck in learning fuinjutsu.

*****BREAK*****

Jiraiya was starting to become desperate. If he didn't find Tsunade soon he would have to be the Hokage! Luckily for Jiraiya they finally caught wind of her and were able to track her down to one of the casinos. Jiraiya considered only bringing Naruto but Sakura was dying to meet the strongest kunoichi in the world and it would be awkward to tell the Uchiha boy he wasn't allowed to come. Jiraiya brought the three genin before Tsunade and her apprentice Shizune. Tsunade was drinking at the time and looked annoyed at spotting her former teammate.

"What do you want?"

Jiraiya gave her a sad smile, "I know you've already heard the news. Konoha needs a new Hokage and you would be the best person for the job." The youthful looking Sanin barked out a laugh, "Me? Hokage? Why would I want that job? Only fools want to become Hokage." Naruto seethed at her comment. "What did you just say?" Tsunade looked at the boy and said, "I said that only a fool would want to be a Hokage and I'm not going to do it."

Naruto looked at Jiraiya and spoke angrily, "This is a waste of time. Why would we want trash like this to be our Hokage?" Tsunade growled in anger, "Did you just call me trash?" Naruto nodded, "You bet I did you old hag, how dare you insult jiji! How dare you insult your sensei and your own grandfather!" Tsunade clenched her firsts, "You little brat, I'm going to pound you."

Jiraiya saw this escalating very quickly, "Now now let's not get too carried away here. Tsunade, Naruto was very close to sensei so you just struck a nerve." Jiraiya was between the two of them and continued, "Now Naruto apologize and let's discuss this rationally." Sakura grabbed Naruto by the sleeve, "Stop ruining our chances of bringing Tsunade back!"

Sasuke didn't speak up very often. So it was surprising when he spoke. "Kakashi-sensei says those that abandon their comrades are worse than trash. She's abandoned her comrades for over a decade. Leave her be Jiraiya-sensei and let's return to the leaf." Jiraiya cursed, this had not gone as planned at all. He never would of that that Naruto and Sasuke would have gone off on someone with Tsunade's reputation.

"That's it we are taking this outside where I'm going to teach you snot nosed brats a lesson!"

Naruto looked at her disbelieving. "Let me get this straight. You know you are worse than trash and you don't like hearing it so you want to physically attack us? Why would we agree to fight you one of the Sanin? We don't doubt your strength we doubt your ability to honor your vow to protect and serve your village!"

"Get them out of here before I kill them Jiraiya," Tsunade said as her killing intent spiked to horrific levels. The casino staff ran away and the three genin trembled slightly but only slightly. Kakashi had drilled into them how to resist killing intent. Jiraiya turned to team seven, "Get out. I'll talk with her. Try to avoid getting into any more trouble." The three genin turned sharply and left leaving the toad sage with the now furious slug princess.

**AN: **This chapter was difficult to write. I'm sure I'll get some upset readers about my decision with Naruto and fuinjutsu but I think it makes sense. I'm open for input on who should become the fuinjutsu expert on the team, Sakura or Sasuke?

Team seven was fairly antagonistic, that was done purposefully. This Kakashi is far more empathic about drilling lessons into his students. The team has little respect for those who shirk their responsibilities. And let's face it Tsunade abandoned the leaf. Naruto won't be battling Tsunade because there is no reason to take that sort of risk. He's already decided she would be a bad Hokage and due to the training he's received he isn't going to fight needless battles that have a low probability of success.


	19. Chapter 18: The Sanin

**AN: **I've also noticed a few comments on grammar/spelling – I don't mind. I would ask for you to send me a quick PM with what was wrong so I can correct it for future readers.

Chapter 18 – The Sanin

Jiraiya managed to prevent Tsunade from going on the warpath but the prospects of making her Hokage were looking dim. Thankfully he had gotten her agreement to talk again after she'd calmed down. Jiraiya made his way back to where team seven was staying. When he arrived he shouted at them. "What is wrong with you?" Naruto responded, "We apologize Jiraiya-Sensei, we should not have acted that way."

Jiraiya was caught off guard. That wasn't the response he had been expecting. He did a double take and said, "What?" Naruto explained, "You are the team leader on the mission. It was obvious during the conversation that you wanted us to be more diplomatic. I should have suppressed my own thoughts and feelings and allowed you to take the lead." Jiraiya eyed him as he parsed the blonde's words. "So you still think she's trash and unfit to be Hokage. You just think it wasn't your place to say so because it contradicted your team leader's approach, do I have it right?" Naruto nodded.

Jiraiya pulled up a chair. "You don't know the whole story. Let me explain, Tsunade wasn't always like this. She had a younger brother and…" Naruto interrupted, "Excuse me Jiraiya-Sensei but I know her history. Her little brother Nawaki was killed in the line of duty as a genin at the age of 12. Her lover Dan was also killed. After both of those deaths she left the village and jiji did not recall her. She spent that time drinking and gambling. Do I have all of the facts Jiraiya-Sensei?"

"Yes you do! So why don't you understand the position she is in?"

"Kakashi-sensei lost his father, his sensei and his entire team and he has stayed loyal to Konoha and is in active service." Naruto gestured to his teammate, "Sasuke has lost his entire family and he has stayed loyal to Konoha and is in active service. And there are many more shinobi who have suffered but have remained loyal to the village."

"Kami you are heartless. Kakashi might be a fantastic sensei when it comes to ninja arts but all three of you need humanity."

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura all narrowed their eyes in anger. Sakura spoke up, "We are not heartless! We talked about it while you were with her. You don't think we feel pity for what happened? All of us wish her life had been easier but if we excuse her behavior and let someone like that become the Hokage will more families suffer because of poor decisions she will make?" Naruto added in on top of her, "And what happens if she loses another precious person? What if Shizune dies? Will she then abandon the village again leaving it leaderless at a horrible time? It is because we care about the village and the people in it that we want to have the best and strongest Hokage possible."

Naruto took a breath and then went on, "And I've got several years to go before I'm even near strong enough to take the hat, until then you Jiraiya are far better than Tsunade. You may not have been in the village but I know you were keeping Konoha safe from the shadows, intercepting threats before they form. You have the skill to be the Hokage and you are a loyal shinobi. It has to be you, not her."

Jiraiya couldn't fault the analysis made by Naruto and team seven. The toad Sanin smiled at the corner of his mouth, "On paper that all sounds great. It's logical and represents what you think the best chance our village has to ensure peace and security." Jiraiya stood up from the chair and gestured with his hands. "But you are still missing the human element. Despite evidence to the contrary I _believe_ in Tsunade. I believe she will make a great Hokage and be an asset to the leaf. I believe she will reconnect with the people of her home and have life enter her heart again."

Sasuke spoke up, "That's irrational, you're basing your belief on what you want to happen not what will happen." Jiraiya shook his head, "You may be right but I don't care. A hero fights on even when it is hopeless. A hero has faith even when logic dictates it is a lost cause. A hero is a man so old his chakra grows weaker by the day but he still fights tooth and nail against kinjutsu and saves the village from Orochimaru. I dream of peace one day, is it logical? Is it rational? No but I will believe in it just like I believe the dead last of his class can be the Hokage. That firm and unwavering belief in others is what you three are missing."

All three of them were silent for a time. Sakura looked at the tall shinobi; she had never seen him so passionate about something. "Jiraiya-Sensei what you just told us and how you just told us is exactly why you should be the Hokage." Jiraiya blinked. Sakura's words made him think but they wouldn't change his course now.

"I hope you change your mind and I expect you to act diplomatically if you see Tsunade again." All three agreed and Jiraiya decided to begin teaching the next lesson on fuinjutsu. Sakura and Sasuke had mastered the sealing matrices for the first two types of sealing scrolls. They could create a sealing scroll that mimicked the environment the item was in before being placed inside the scroll. They could also alter the temperature so if they needed to carry a cold item they could modify the seal to bring the temperature down. The third alteration was changing other parts of the environment. Humidity and air pressure could also be manipulated with the storage scroll and that was what they were learning next.

Naruto left a clone to listen to the lesson while he went outside and summoned Gamakichi. Naruto provided snacks and listened to the toad talk about the other inhabitants of Mount Myoboku. Naruto got to know the young toad better and learned about the personalities of the others as well as which ones wouldn't mind being summoned for battle or training. After a couple of hours Gamakichi returned home and Naruto went to sleep along with the rest of team seven who had finished the fuinjutsu lesson.

*****BREAK*****

A few days went by. Jiraiya figured they had time to spare while Tsunade cooled down. Jiraiya had also caught wind that Orochimaru was in the area and that concerned him. He left eyes on the three genin entrusted into his care and then went to meet Tsunade.

They sat down for drinks. Tsunade started the conversation, "Those brats need to learn to respect their elders." Jiraiya simply nodded. There wasn't much heat in her voice and that was a good thing. "I think you are crazy if you think I should be the Hokage. You should just leave and forget you found me." Jiraiya shook his head, "I can't do that. I also can't just leave when you might be meeting with Orochimaru." Tsunade's eyes widened. So he did know.

"It's none of your business. Look let's just enjoy our meal. And… I'd like to know a little more about Minato's brat. He looks to be quite a handful. I have no idea how he's turned out except for rumors and our last little conversation." Jiraiya happily obliged her and never noticed her slip something into his drink.

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi was going to honor his bargain with Kurenai. He would lend a hand in their training as she had lent a hand with Sakura's Genjutsu. Kakashi reviewed the mission reports, academy scores and Kurenai's own notes on them. He quickly saw issues that needed to be addressed.

Shino had the fewest problems. He had above average tactical knowhow and a level head. Outside of Shikamaru and Sasuke he scored the highest on intelligence tests. Shino was committed to his clan's jutsu and worked hard master it. The problem he saw was an overreliance on his insect allies. Due to chakra those bugs used he would be unable to use ninjutsu effectively; in essence the bugs meant his chakra pool was smaller. On the plus side his chakra control was excellent, in many ways it reminded him of Sakura when he first met her.

Kakashi knew almost no medical jutsu however he would bring one of the shinobi hospital staff to train Shino on the basics. With the team's specialty of tracking having a medically trained shinobi would be useful. If they had to capture an enemy alive they could afford to use stronger attacks knowing that all but the worst wounds could be healed.

Kiba was terrific close range fighter for a genin. Between him and Akamaru he was probably chunin level in close combat. Kiba had two problems. One was his brashness, he was arrogant and cocky and that would get a shinobi killed. He wasn't sure how to handle it, he really was not their sensei and he wasn't going to spending a huge chunk of time with them. If they were his team he would have beat it out of Kiba but Kurenai may not appreciate that approach. 'I'll discuss it with her,' he thought.

The second issue was that team eight had no elemental chakra usage. This wasn't atypical for a genin team but it still galled Kakashi. Casualty rates would be a lot lower if genin teams learned their chakra nature affinities early. He would test Kiba for what affinity he had and then drill him in that nature and teach him a jutsu or two for the betterment of the squad.

The last issue was Hinata. Hinata wasn't arrogant and given her last name most would think that a blessing. However she had taken the other extreme, she was extremely unconfident and had no leadership abilities whatsoever. With her Byakugan she needed to be able to make independent decisions. It wasn't always practical to simply relay information to her team verbally and wait for someone else to make a decision.

He had some ideas on how to fix those confidence issues. He also wanted to help her with her taijutsu. She was skilled already but further refinement wouldn't hurt. Kakashi doubted he would teach her ninjutsu at this time. The gentle fist style was an exacting discipline that required a lot of effort and it wouldn't be wise to split her attention too much. Kakashi was looking forward to sparring with her and giving her some tips. He would also try to find some time to talk with Gai while Neji was working on his gentle fist so he could compare the two and make corrections to Hinata's forms as needed.

If team eight was willing to work with him he could improve their abilities to the point where the next chunin exam should be simple for them. Kakashi longed for his team to return already, successful for not. Putting thoughts of team eight and team seven out of his head he began his own training. His body was probably at peak condition but it took effort to keep it maintained. Additionally he wanted to keep increasing his stamina while using the Sharingan. Slowly but surely he was forcing his body to become acclimated to it. While his body would never seamlessly use the Sharingan like a natural Uchiha he could minimize the differences as much as possible allowing him to use it for longer periods of time.

*****BREAK*****

Jiraiya was late returning to the hotel. Team seven had Naruto send out shadow clones to investigate. When one of the clones spotted him at a stand that served food and alcohol it approached ready to give him an earful, only to see Jiraiya unconscious. The clone tried waking him but was unsuccessful. The clone dissipated so report back to Naruto who swiftly made more clones to carry the passed out Jiraiya back to their rooms.

Sakura had a basic working of medical jutsu. She knew enough to realize that Jiraiya had been drugged. He wasn't drunk so that could be the only option. His pulse was low but not dangerously slow and his condition wasn't deteriorating so the prognosis looked good. They decided to watch over him and try to wake him in the morning.

In the morning they were able to get Jiraiya up. He realized what had happened and told them to fan out and find Tsunade and Shizune as soon as possible. Jiraiya knew where Shizune and Tsunade were staying so they headed their first. Shizune informed them of what had happened and they immediately began searching for the missing Sanin.

'Tsunade I came to bring you back, you had better not be siding with that traitor. I love you but if you betray Konoha I'll have no choice but to kill you.'

*****BREAK*****

One of Naruto's clones spotted smashed terrain in the distance and instantly popped letting the real Naruto know. Team seven, Jiraiya and Shizune rushed to that location and soon heard the sounds of battle. Orochimaru was watching as Kabuto fought with Tsunade. As they arrived Kabuto cut his hand and splattered blood all over Tsunade. Tsunade was stunned, paralyzed even and didn't evade the Kabuto's next strike that sent her sailing. Shizune quickly caught her master and team seven sprang into action.

Naruto began by creating forty clones, half of which charged immediately. Kabuto had failed to accurately report the strength of team seven and it was his most comprehensive failure to date. Kabuto was angry and was going to wipe away his shame by destroying team seven. He would keep Sasuke alive but Sakura and Naruto were dead. Chakra scalpels appeared in his hands as the clones struck at him. He was surprised by the swiftness of the attack, the katanas screamed towards him with high chunin level speed. Kabuto dodged skillfully and responded by slashing and killing several clones.

Kabuto tried to make headway to get at the real Naruto as well as Sakura and Sasuke but failed to do so. The clones simply did not allow him to proceed forward, they would slash and cut blocking his path, while he could pop one or two even that was getting harder. Kabuto was frustrated; especially considering team seven was simply calmly watching him struggle with the clones and not even doing anything. 'So they think they are safe over there," Kabuto thought.

Kabuto used **Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu** (Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu) to burrow into the ground and pop up behind Naruto and drag him part of the way into the earth and then use a chakra scalpel to cut into his lungs. The clone dissipated and then explosive tags that were on the clone exploded point blank in Kabuto's face. The explosion destroyed the clones of Sasuke and Sakura as well who also had explosive tags on them.

Kabuto was blasted backwards from the explosion, a Naruto clone leapt at him swinging it's katana down, Kabuto flipped in mid air dazed but still aware of his surroundings and caught the blade between his palms. The strength of the attack was stopped but Kabuto felt it in his arms, the strength was far beyond any genin. Kabuto hit the ground and quickly used Kawarimi to avoid a **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) from the real Sasuke. Kabuto was breathing heavily, what was happening?

Trained by Orochimaru personally he was extremely confident in his skills. Outside of Jiraiya, Kakashi and Gai he doubted any other leaf shinobi would be a match. Kabuto had to take this more cautiously, he still wanted them dead but he would need to start taking the fight more seriously.

Jiraiya had intended Shizune to fight with Kabuto while he fought with Orochimaru. When he saw the Naruto clones race forward he figured it would be fine since the real team seven would be safe while the clones did battle. Seeing the effectiveness in real combat first hand was surprising, he had seen team seven train with them but it hadn't prepared him to see this level of efficacy in real battle.

Orochimaru smiled. Team seven being this competent did pose a potential problem for today however it also meant that Sasuke was strong enough to be his vessel. "Yesss Sasuke you will be mine, you are perfect." Jiraiya told Shizune, "Help team seven I'll handle Orochimaru." Two Naruto clones pulled Tsunade away from the fighting area. Kabuto distanced himself from the clones and resorted to **Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu** (Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu) to simply travel next Orochimaru. He hastily popped a plasma pill and unwrapped Orochimaru's arm. As the Naruto clones charged the two enemies of Konoha finished their summoning jutsu. A giant two headed snake appeared from the smoke, one clone dashed forward accepting 'death' to slash with his katana to check the strength of the snake's scale. Unsurprising the blade did not piercing the scale and the summon crushed the clone.

Jiraiya responded with his own summon, finishing the jutsu revealed none other than Gamakichi! Jiraiya cursed, Tsunade's drug was still affecting his chakra control. Orochimaru laughed, "Still playing the fool I see." The real Naruto saw the danger and immediately used **Kuchiyose no Jutsu **(Summoning Technique). Right as he was finishing the hand seals Kabuto threw a flurry of scalpels at Naruto. Sakura deflected them as they travelled to their target. That done Naruto was able to finish the summoning. Unlike Jiraiya's Gamakichi, Naruto was able to summon one of the great battle toads. Gamaken took in his surroundings and narrowed his eyes seeing the two headed snake. He twirled his Sasumata and rumbled dangerous, "I am not too clumsy to deal with this snake."

Jiraiya breathed a sigh of relief. Even though Gamaken could probably take the two headed snake there was no reason not to lend a helping hand. **"Doton: Yomi Numa"** (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld). The ground beneath the snake turned to mud. The jutsu did more than just that, the chakra made the swamp adhesive making it nearly impossible to escape. Unfortunately due to the drug still within his system the swamp was not deep enough to finish off the summon but it did impair its ability to fight.

Gamaken was easily able to strike at the snake causing tremendous damage with his Sasumata. Orochimaru opened his mouth and brought forth the Sword of Kusanagi. Holding it in his mouth he slashed the young summoner. Gamaken blocked, the blade slightly cracking the surface of the massive shield. Naruto ran down Gamaken's body and leaped to the ground. Kabuto moved fast to intercept and kill the annoying boy in mid air. Kabuto's chakra scalpels were ready however Sasuke moved to intercept. Kabuto was committed to the attack and only had fractions of a second to respond.

Sasuke's Chidori filled the air with chirps and Kabuto tried to use the chakra scalpel to rip the tendons in his arm forcing it to go limp. However Sasuke's Sharingan whirled behind the contact lens and easily saw the attempted move. The raven haired boy adjusted his aim and smashed the chakra scalpel with his Chidori. The electricity was only slightly diminished and still held its killing potential. The Chidori cut through half of Kabuto's hand eliciting a scream of pain. As Kabuto landed on the ground he was instantly pounced on by two Naruto clones. Kabuto pushed chakra into his feet and used shunshin to get away, narrowly avoiding further damage.

Kabuto had used **In'yu Shometsu** (Yin Healing Sound Destruction) to minimize the damage but his hand would not work properly for some time. Orochimaru abandoned his snake summon and moved away from Jiraiya and Gamaken. Seeing their summon outclassed Orochimaru called to Kabuto and the two of them summoned Manda the great snake. Shizune who had been ready to assist team seven rushed back to Tsunade. She believed they would need Tsunade to summon Katsuyu if they were going to stand a chance.

Manda hissed, "Orochimaru why have you have summoned me?" Orochimaru promised a hundred sacrifices if he were to kill all but Sasuke and Tsunade. Gamaken had just forced the giant snake to dissipate when he turned and faced a threat that outclassed him. He rumbled nervously but held his ground against the world's greatest serpent.

Sasuke called out, "Kabuto has a regenerative ability." All of team seven knew what that meant. Don't assume he was down until he had been decapitated and burnt. Orochimaru rode on Manda's head as it bore down on Gamaken. Kabuto had finally been able to figure out which were the real members of team seven and which were clones. The clones that were in a Henge acted slightly different in their movements. Kabuto used shunshin to get close and the academy level Bunshin to confuse his enemies as he went for Sakura.

He laughed as she completed hand signs and shouted, "**Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu"** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique). "I know how you fight; I will not fall to your Genjutsu, KAI!" Kabuto realized in horror he wasn't under a Genjutsu. Sakura had used ninjutsu on him! Shielding his face with his arms he again used his healing ability to survive the worst of it. As the fire raged clones shut kunai and shuriken at him. Kabuto clenched his jaw in frustration as his body became further damaged and used his **Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu** (Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu) to escape underground.

Gamaken leapt aside as Manda smashed into the area he had vacated. Jiraiya was somewhat at a loss for what to do. Hoping to distract Manda he used a chakra infused jump to land on the great snake and began climbing towards Orochimaru. Orochimaru slashed down with Kusanagi, carefully avoiding Manda's body. Jiraiya did a small jump and landed on the sword itself and then kicked out at Orochimaru who dodged to the side easily.

Naruto wasn't idle he threw a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it and watched it bounce off Manda's incredibly strong scales, the explosion accomplishing nothing. Naruto grinned and swiftly attached another explosive tag onto his chakra kunai. Powering it with his wind chakra he threw it at Manda's great body again, this time the wind infused chakra blade piercing the scales and buried itself in the monstrous form. The paper bomb exploded from the inside of Manda. Manda writhed in pain and thrashed around. Both Sanin had used chakra on their soles to stay in contact with Manda while they fought but this unexpected movement broke the connection and they fell.

Manda was a massive serpent. The damage was nowhere near enough to kill him. It was akin to a human having a needle stuck in their calf and having it inject bleach into their body. Horrifically painful but not enough kill. Gamaken saw an opening and struck out with his weapon denting some of the snake's scales under its jaw. "I'll crush you," the great snake threatened. Manda attempted to wrap itself around the gallant toad but the self proclaimed clumsy toad used his Sasumata as a pole and vaulted over the snake's grasp.

Jiraiya and Orochimaru landed safely and continued their battle. With Jiraiya's chakra still not under his full control it was all he could do to avoid getting hit by his foe's dangerous blade. Naruto sent some clones to help but they did little to stop the agile Sanin. The difference between a Sanin even sans usable arms and Kabuto was significant. Naruto launched his last chakra kunai at Manda. Manda cried out in rage and pain as he suffered another painful internal explosion.

Shizune was desperately trying to get Tsunade to snap out of her hemophobia. Her eyes were distant looking at some unknown horror and were unresponsive. Shizune cried out, "Please Tsunade-Sama snap out it! Master Jiraiya needs you." The Naruto clones on guard shook their heads and continued to keep a sharp eye out if anything came their way.

Kabuto's chakra was dropping to dangerous levels. He hesitated in taking another rations pill. It would refuel his chakra but the side effects were drastic and even a medical nin of his ability could be permanently harmed by trying to use a 2nd pill so quickly after the first. He used shunshin to step away from the battle and used stealth to avoid being seen. Manda should be sufficient to deal with the enemies on the field. Kabuto would never admit it but team seven had shaken him badly. He had yet to do any damage to any of his targets. He had tried to take on Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura at different times in the battle and each time he was the one taking damage.

Sasuke was able to spot Kabuto away from the battle with his Sharingan. He pointed it out to Naruto and Sakura. They would ignore him for now because something had to be done about Manda. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other and silently agreed to the plan. Naruto and Sasuke rushed toward where Manda was corralling Gamaken. When they got close enough they shouted in unison.

**"Futon: Daitoppa"** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)

**"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu"** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)

The roaring flames scorched Manda's skin but did little real damage despite its fury. Manda reared up and attempted to swallow the two annoying insects. Gamaken took the opportunity to smash Manda across the mouth with his weapon giving time for Sasuke and Naruto leap backward. Sasuke looked at Naruto, "That didn't work, any other ideas?"

Naruto glanced at the battlefield. Jiraiya and Orochimaru were busy with each other. Shizune was still trying to get Tsunade to respond. Kabuto was hanging back and Manda was going to defeat Gamaken soon. "Step back," he ordered Sasuke in a low growl. Sasuke glanced at Naruto and saw a spike of red chakra from within Naruto with his Sharingan.

Naruto forced himself to think about his jiji. How much he loved him. How he had been killed by Orochimaru. He felt the foul chakra start to fill his body, "Pay up you damn fox, or do you want to be killed here with me?" Naruto let out a wordless roar and charged toward Manda and Gamaken. Manda felt the chakra spike and looked warily for its source.

**"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU"** (Summoning Technique)

A cloud of smoke appeared and then dispersed revealing Gamabunta the chief toad. Manda hissed angrily now he was between two of the great toads. But Naruto wasn't done. He used Kawarimi with a clone to bring himself to the ground. He could feel the kyubi chakra within him, it had dimmed with the summon but was not exhausted. Flashing through the hand signs he repeated the summoning technique. He had learned that there was another he could summon from Mount Myoboku. Gamahiro was the third great battle toad to appear on the field of battle. He had two blades strapped to his back that he swiftly drew them against Manda.

Manda hissed and looked at his three opponents. Manda was arrogant but against three battle toads he would not be the victor. Gamabunta shouted, "Time to get a snake skin wallet!" Orochimaru saw the gigantic toads circle the great serpent. If he had his arms he would have continued the battle but with Kabuto being out classed by team seven and now his chief summon in a difficult position he did not have the resources to win. Orochimaru sank into the ground and when Manda saw this he hissed, "Coward I had better have those sacrifices soon Orochimaru!" Manda then dissipated as well. Kabuto quickly followed his master and the battle field was cleared of opponents.

Jiraiya was breathing heavily. If only he hadn't been drugged he could have prevented Orochimaru's escape. The toads seeing the battle was over also returned to their home. Naruto was quite winded but was happy they had been successful. "Good work brat," Jiraiya then looked at Sakura and Sasuke, "Good work all of you." Shizune was speechless after seeing three shinobi, genin aged take on foes like Orochimaru and Kabuto. Naruto then cursed unexpectedly, "Damn it! That snake owes me two chakra blades!"

They looked at him quizzically. "I was hoping when he went back to wherever he came from my chakra blades would drop to the ground here." Sakura couldn't help but laugh, it wasn't that funny really but she had just survived a battle that had involved the Sanin! Jiraiya simply shook his head, "Kid I'll buy you a half dozen, you just saved all of our hides."

The triumphant team seven got Tsunade cleaned up and took her to the hotel. Eventually the shock of seeing blood faded and Tsunade was able to recover. Seeing everyone around here she looked away filled with shame. "I… I'm sorry everyone. I shouldn't have drugged you Jiraiya and I shouldn't have hit you Shizune. I don't know how I survived but I'm sure I have you all to thank." Jiraiya gave her a lopsided grin, "Since you want to thank us, why don't you come back with us to Konoha and become the Hokage? "

Tsunade looked down, "After all this you still think I should be Hokage?" Jiraiya nodded, "Of course!" Team seven looked grim and Tsunade didn't miss their expressions. "Take me back to Konoha; I want to pay my respects to sensei. Afterwards I'll let you know my decision." Jiraiya would have preferred a firm yes but it was better than an outright no. Jiraiya gave a meaningful look to team seven. The three genin knew that look meant they should not try to pressure Tsunade to pass the hat to Jiraiya.

After resting for one day Team seven, Shizune, Tsunade and Jiraiya began their return journey to Konohagakure. One of the two Sanin was becoming Hokage.

**AN: **Just a reminder for those who think team seven was too strong during the fighting. Cannon Naruto tagged Kabuto with a rasengan and knocked him out for a bit.


	20. Chapter 19: The New Hokage

**AN: **I appreciate everyone taking the time to review my story. This chapter has a lot of little scenes, I hope you enjoy it!

**Chapter 19: **The New Hokage

Team seven and company returned to Konohagakure with no further problems. When they arrived in the village Kakashi was waiting for them. He gave them a wave and said, "Welcome home, it looks like you were successful. I trust you made sure to keep an eye on my team right Jiraiya?" Jiraiya gave a nervous laugh, "Your team is right here safe and sound just like I promised, pretty uneventful trip really." Sakura and Naruto's eyes bugged out while Sasuke just smirked.

Jiraiya kept walking, "We have to get to the Hokage tower and make some decisions if you'll excuse me Kakashi…" Kakashi missed nothing but simply said, "All right then thank you for returning my team." Kakashi turned to Tsunade and Shizune and addressed them, "Good to see you Lady Tsunade. And you as well Shizune, if you'll excuse me I'll want to hear my team report."

Shizune smiled wishing she was a fly on the wall when team seven made their report. She followed Master Jiraiya and Lady Tsunade and wondered about Kakashi's reaction to his team of genin fighting Konoha's most dangerous missing nin.

If Shizune had been there she would have been underwhelmed by his reaction. A slight widening of his one visible eye was the only reaction he gave as he listened to his team tell him about their encounter with Kabuto and Orochimaru. What was the point of overacting? Now if he had heard his team was going to fight the pair he would be worried but clearly they had survived. Instead he analyzed the fight and discussed alternative strategies to the ones used.

Kakashi also questioned them about fuinjutsu. Naruto explained why he was not going to pursue it and instead he would work on refining his chakra control. He was also looking forward to learning a new wind jutsu. Sakura loved fuinjutsu and couldn't help but gush about it. Sasuke was less impressed, "Jiraiya-sensei explained that it takes a long time to master the art of fuinjutsu and that even when mastered it isn't always practical to use in battle. If Sakura wants to take the lead on fuinjutsu, that's fine. I would like to learn more jutsu and continue my taijutsu mastery.

Kakashi found the decision reasonable. Sakura was beaming when her sensei said, "Well then it's decided. Unless you hit a wall in your training Sakura you will be the team's fuinjutsu specialist. Learning Genjutsu, taijutsu and fuinjutsu at the same time will be a struggle. For now you will not be able to learn anymore ninjutsu with all of that on your plate." Sakura took the news gracefully. Her chakra reserves had expanded significantly since graduating the academy but her **Katon** (Fire Release) jutsu took a lot of chakra that could be better used for Genjutsu. It was great to have an ace in the hole however she couldn't be an expert in everything.

The training game plan was on the table. All three of them would continue to work on conditioning and taijutsu. Naruto would focus on improving chakra control and learning a new wind jutsu. Sakura would work on Genjutsu and fuinjutsu and Sasuke would be further focused on taijutsu and ninjutsu. That determined Kakashi informed them they would soon be going on a B ranked mission. The only reason a mission hadn't been selected was because he didn't know when they would return. Team seven was all smiles, they were ready.

*****BREAK*****

On the way to the Hokage tower Tsunade told Jiraiya she wanted to stop at Hiruzen's gravesite. Tsunade was silent for a few minutes thinking back on her past. What would her sensei say now? Now after being gone for years, abandoning the leaf and not being there to protect it what would he say about her being the Hokage? Jiraiya was a respectful distance away so he didn't notice her silent tears.

'Why am I here? Why did I go back to the place with so many horrible memories?'

Tsunade shivered, nothing kept her here but after returning she felt obligated to stay. She had nearly gotten Jiraiya killed, nearly gotten the fourth Hokage's son killed, nearly gotten Shizune killed. She had been helpless because of her memories, there was no way she could be the Hokage. Tsunade turned to her former teammate and shook her head, "I can't. I can't be Hokage Jiraiya, I'm sorry but I simply can't."

Jiraiya reached out and Tsunade hugged him, and despite her breasts pressing against him he didn't have a single lecherous thought. "It's all right. No one is going to make you Hokage if you don't want to be." Jiraiya had hoped for a different outcome. He had hoped that time had eased her wounds. He had hoped that Naruto, the boy who never gave up would convince her to take up her grandfather's mantle. But Naruto had done nothing but condemn her and then refused to fight her when challenged.

Naruto was right; fighting someone just because of a disagreement was foolish. But because he did not, Tsunade never saw the fire within Naruto, the passion to never give up. He couldn't blame the boy for not accepting her challenge; she was one of the Sanin. And then the way things went down with Orochimaru was just bad for Tsunade. Yes no one had died and he was incredibly thankful for that. But Tsunade had lay helpless in the dirt. She had almost gotten several people killed and it probably reinforced her view that she wasn't strong enough, capable enough or worthy enough for the title. At this point nothing he could say would change her mind.

"Tsunade, I'll be the Hokage. I only ask that you stay for awhile, let Shizune reacquaint herself with the village of her youth."

Tsunade nodded, "All right, it's the least I can do. I have no desire to talk with the council. I'll go find a place for me and Shizune." Jiraiya accepted her answer and then let her be. He didn't think he was a good selection for Hokage. But now he would be selected and he would be damned if he brought ruin to Konoha. Jiraiya would become the Godaime and do his very best.

*****BREAK*****

Nearly everyone was on board with Jiraiya becoming Hokage. The jonin had no problems with the legendary toad sage, though a few of the male jonin were highly concerned about a potential delay in the next volume of their… literature. The Daimyo also thought highly of Jiraiya and so the choice was ratified and made.

Jiraiya immediately confirmed much of what had already been done. The leaf's strategy was to give the illusion that they were near full strength. As such jonin were completing missions at a very fast clip. ANBU black ops were also doing missions that normally would be considered beneath them but right now they needed to just get them done.

As the Godaime Hokage Jiraiya's first task was something he felt was long overdue. After the first council session he excused everyone but Danzo and Kakashi. He started with a bombshell. "Danzo, I am aware ROOT still exists." Danzo gave no visible reaction other than to say, "Sarutobi disbanded it years…" Jiraiya slapped his hand on the table, "Don't lie to me Danzo. I'll have you executed for treason if you continue your falsehoods." Danzo's eyes went to Kakashi and then back to Jiraiya. "ROOT serves a purpose, it protects this village."

"ROOT can keep its name and continue to exist but changes will be made. I need a full accounting of every shinobi under your control, their abilities, skills and mission history. Furthermore your abhorrent recruitment and training practices end now." Danzo seethed inside, ROOT was his, he had built it and he would be the one in control.

Danzo stood up, "Don't be an idealistic fool! Konoha was almost destroyed because of your sensei's foolish naiveté. ROOT supports the great tree from the shadows, without it we would be in an even worse state. I refuse to allow you to destroy Konoha!"

Kakashi raised his killing intent and spoke softly, "Danzo this is your Hokage. You can feel free to disagree with him but you will obey." Danzo shifted, fighting here would be stupid. Even if he won Konohagakure would be hard pressed to recover the loss of two of its most powerful shinobi. Moreover the council would never work with him if he assassinated the newly selected Hokage. Even with his stolen eye and arm the chances of him actually wining were microscopic.

Danzo was defeated for the moment. He lowered his gaze and said, "I understand Jiraiya-Sama, you will have a full listing of the shinobi within ROOT on your desk in the morning." Jiraiya knew Danzo would be trouble in the future but if he obeyed he would allow him to contain his role. But the way he trained and raised shinobi would be stopped immediately. Danzo left and Kakashi turned to Jiraiya, "If you will excuse me Lord Hokage I'll be heading out with my team." Jiraiya waved him off. Kakashi's presence shouldn't have been needed but the jonin had insisted it would be wise. With his Sharingan he knew Danzo was far from the cripple he pretended to be.

Jiraiya still hadn't been worried but it didn't hurt to make it clear where Kakashi's loyalties were. That off his to do list, he made his way to his office and cringed at all the paperwork. 'My fans will suffer for what I do for the village. There may never be another book released at this rate.' With a heavy sigh Jiraiya got to work, with the stack of information on ROOT coming in tomorrow he needed to make a sizeable dent as soon as possible.

*****BREAK*****

Team seven set off on a string of missions. Due the quantity of missions available it was easy to link missions together. Escort duty to one land seamlessly wove into an assassination in the same area before returning home. Normally it was frowned about to chain missions together because if you failed the first one it automatically meant the second failed. That led to dissatisfied customers and less revenue for the village. It also was a black mark on the reputation of the village, success rate mattered greatly. However this was Kakashi so the idea of him failing a B mission was laughable.

In the next month team seven would complete 13 B ranked missions, and a pair of C ranked missions only taken due to proximity. On those missions team seven further enhanced their teamwork. Sakura's Genjutsu proved to quite valuable for the less direct combat oriented assignments. Genjutsu allowed for assassinations to give the appearance of suicide, sometimes mission parameters forbid the frontal approach. In direct combat team seven obliterated any opposition. Zabuza and Haku made their Wave mission an A ranked mission. Meaning that typical opposition for a B rank was below the difficulty of Zabuza and Haku. In fact they only encountered chunin level threat on all of their missions. That was true until the last mission of the month.

The mission was potentially dangerous because the gem merchant was travelling with a large amount of merchandise. Missions came into the leaf from all sorts of people. There was one mission that was tasked with kill the gem merchant and delivering the merchandise elsewhere and there was one mission for guarding the gem merchant. Konoha has chosen to defend the gem merchant which means whoever was looking for shinobi to kill said merchant would go to another village.

Iwagakure was anxious to test the waters and see if Konoha was really as battle ready as it pretended to be. The plan was a simple one, ambush Konoha shinobi out on missions and see if they were actually staffing to those missions correctly. If there was weakness then the Tsuchikage would strongly consider making war upon the Leaf and avenge the humiliation the Yellow Flash had caused. He sent a jonin with three chunin as one squad. A second squad would stay back and observe the battle. Two such groupings would go out and attempt to clash with leaf forces.

The unlucky group hit team seven on the gem escort mission. As was typical Naruto had made clones that fanned out around the caravan in all directions. The four shinobi spotted the clone and attempted to silently kill it. One Iwa shinobi threw a poison laced senbon at the clone. The Naruto clone felt it coming and dodged to the side and drew a kunai and threw it at the enemy. Pushing chakra into its feet the clone charged at the kunoichi who had thrown the senbon.

The chunin Iwa nin fired more senbon only for them to be deflected by another kunai drawn in the clone's hand. The jonin, a strong earth user was irritated at his student's failure and flashed through hands seals using **"Doton: Dosekiryu"** (Earth Style: Earth Dragon). The stone dragon rose up from the ground on an interception course. The clone hastily used Kawarimi to avoid the stone dragon, however the Doton user was skilled and the dragon altered course. The clone dodged the jutsu and was nearly impaled by more senbon needles, a hasty **"Futon: Reppusho" **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) pushed the senbon needles away but broke the clone's momentum and drained much of its remaining chakra.

"Crap," the clone said as the earth jutsu smashed into him and popped him. The real Naruto suppressed the urge to blink, a bad habit Kakashi had broken. A shinobi could die in a blink of an eye and to do it every time a clone dissipates could be fatal. Naruto quickly relayed the information, "Two Iwa shinobi, one is a strong earth jutsu, threat level moderate." If anything it was an overestimation but it never hurt to be cautious and it was unknown if there were more threats around, likely they were given the common practice of four man squads.

Kakashi considered what would be the best course of action. The mission was important but paramount was the potential conflict with Iwa. "Don't kill them unless necessary, Naruto pin them down with the clones, I'll take them out. If any circle around to attack you here deal with them." Naruto made fifty clones and sent forty of them into the wooden area. The road itself was clear but on either side thick forest allowed ambushers to come from almost any angle.

Kakashi trailed behind the clones; he left a shadow a clone behind to watch over his team. The jonin activated his Sharingan and began moving with exceptional stealth worthy of the elite jonin that he was. The Naruto clones hit the Iwa shinobi like a wrecking ball. While it only took a decently hard strike to dissipate a clone the fact was that the clones were _fast_. Only the jonin Doton user could match their speed.

The kunoichi with the senbon was firing them at a rapid pace but had only successfully tagged one. She threw a poisonous smoke bomb that could have been effective if not blown away by a wind jutsu. The other two chunin also made an appearance. One was another Doton user and the other was a taijutsu specialist. Sadly for the taijutsu specialist his speed and strength were only equal to a clone and there was an army of clones.

The jonin called a retreat only for Kakashi to rise up out of the ground aiming a kunai for his throat. The jonin grasped the wrist before the blade could descend which was exactly what Kakashi expected. With bone jarring force Kakashi's knee came up and slammed into the man's abdomen. Doubled over the jonin couldn't stop Kakashi from slamming his elbow into the base of his neck knocking him out.

The taijutsu specialist was clubbed unconscious by a Naruto clone. The chunin Doton specialist put up a rock wall to help ward off pursuit but clones simply ran up one side and down the other. The kunoichi threw the last of her senbon and threw makibishi behind her as she ran. The clones easily avoided them. To the two Iwa shinobi it was like a scene from a nightmare. An army of blond haired enemies getting past every defense they had running them to the ground.

Soon enough they were surrounded and exhausted. Their only hope was if the observation team intervened. Their shadow team saw that it was Sharingan no Kakashi who was leading the team and decided to avoid confrontation. They longed to be the ones to put down the 4th Hokage's last remaining student. It was a temptation but they told themselves they had orders and they had to be obeyed. In reality it was due to the very well reasoned fear in their guts, if they confronted the copy cat nin they would lose.

The clones overwhelmed the last two chunin and soon all four of them were in custody. The clones carried the four prisoners back to where the wagons were. The three genin were a bit miffed they didn't get to play a more active role. When Naruto mentioned it Sakura felt like walloping him on the head. "At least you got to do something, we just sat here!" Kakashi chuckled, "So overeager, we were fighting an unknown number of shinobi, no sense in taking chances."

Sasuke and Sakura were not happy, they knew it was the right call but they each had a strong desire to prove themselves in battle. Kakashi placed chakra seals on the four Iwa shinobi and woke the jonin up. "I'm tempted to kill all four of you and deliver your heads to Iwagakure." The jonin's eyes widened. "But I'm not going to do that. The new Hokage desires peace so I'll place nice for now." Kakashi narrowed his eyes and raised his killing intent to full throttle, "However if any more Iwa shinobi cross our path they are dead. Understood?"

The enemy jonin hastily nodded his head. Kakashi untied them and waved his hand, "Bye now." The Iwa shinobi were shocked. They were being let go? At first they thought it was a trick, some cruel joke being played on them. But as nothing happened as they walked away. Curiosity finally got the best of kunoichi. Her face was pretty despite the scar running across her forehead. "Why? Why would you let us go?"

Sasuke yawned, "Because you aren't worth our time." Sakura laughed at Sasuke's taunt, both because she wanted to be on Sasuke's side and also because she knew the confident and arrogant attitude would bolster the perception that Kakashi was pushing. Naruto added, "That wasn't nice Sasuke, they managed to take out ten of my clones, I only had forty left. I might have actually had to use the jutsu again if Kakashi-Sensei wasn't with us." All four of the Konoha shinobi laughed causing the Iwa squad to be both furious and embarrassed. None of them were stupid enough to start something and they quickly left the area filled with shame.

The shadow squad leader sent word back to Iwa. The stories about Kakashi's team were true. The boy, Naruto Uzumaki would be added to their bingo books at minimum B rank threat and if his summoning skills could be confirmed an A ranked threat.

Kakashi turned to his squad, "Well done however I will caution all of you again about arrogance and pride. They will get you killed even when fighting inferior shinobi." All three responded with, "Hai Kakashi-Sensei!" It was a fine line between confidence and arrogance. He would watch his team to make sure they didn't stray too far from that line.

The rest of the mission was uneventful. Upon returning to Konoha things had settled down some. Kakashi had Naruto make a few clones to work on D ranked missions while the team did nothing else but train for a solid week. Team seven trained on the road on occasion but couldn't push themselves and risk the success of their mission. A week on home ground allowed them to cut loose.

Naruto mastered a new jutsu**. Futon: Shinkugyoku** (Wind Release Vacuum Bullets) was a wind jutsu that fired what amounted to a dozen bullets of air. Each bullet could pierce flesh. The jutsu was not designed to pierce strong defenses however it would be an effective kill move against lightly armored opponents. One weakness was that the user had to breathe in air and manipulate it. The victim did have at least a second or two to find cover or prepare a defense. However the speed of the air bullets once exhaled travelled much faster than any thrown object.

Sakura was absorbed with learning seals. Under careful supervision she had created her first explosive tag. It was weaker than the standard one however once she progressed in her studies she would be able to make explosive tags with a larger blast radius and a higher temperature. Kakashi and Jiraiya both lectured her extensively and not being stupid, there would be no practicing explosive seals without supervision. Sakura was itching to experiment but saw the wisdom in waiting.

Sasuke focused on his taijutsu and picked up a few more lighting techniques. Of note was **Raiton: Shichu Shibari** (Lighting Release: Four Pillar Bind). This technique pulled four pillars from the earth and trapped the victim in a field of lightning. Typically it was not fatal; primarily it was used for capture. Team seven would use it to set up a kill by trapping the enemy and then finishing them off with an offensive jutsu or Naruto throwing a chakra kunai.

In regards to chakra kunai Jiraiya came through for Naruto. The jinchuuriki was quite happy with his six new chakra kunai that were almost identical to the one's he had lost when fighting Manda.

*****BREAK*****

While team seven was completing their B ranked missions Shizune started volunteering at the hospital. Her presence was greatly appreciated. Having a medical nin who had trained under the legendary Tsunade was a boon to morale. Many civilians and shinobi had been injured during the invasion. Everyone had already been treated however several were at various states of rehabilitation.

Shizune cared for Lady Tsunade greatly but she missed this. She liked waking up in the morning to the same familiar smiling faces. She loved being able to help her village each day, curing the sick and helping the injured recover. One of the rehabilitation cases was Choji. His leg had to be amputated and he was struggling to get used to the prosthetic.

The biggest concern was being able to travel swiftly, he couldn't push chakra into the prosthetic to help him travel meaning unless he wanted to try doing it one legged, it was impossible to keep up in tree jumping. Shizune had an idea that may be able to help him however it was beyond her skill. Seeing Choji work hard every day motivated her. The fact that his team had kept him on the roster despite his injuries was a testament to how much they cared for him. They had only been doing D ranks since he had been injured.

Shizune approached Tsunade about the issue. "Lady Tsunade, you've been cooped up drinking the entire time we've been here!" Tsunade gave her an aggravated look, "If there were any casinos in this village I'd have somewhere to go." Shizune gave a frustrated sigh and put her hands on her hips. "Tsunade! There are people who need your help. I know one boy who would give almost anything to have his leg back; I know you've studied a technique that can help him. Please Lady Tsunade, you know you owe team seven for saving your life. This boy is a friend of theirs, come see him at least."

Tsunade slammed her fist on the table. "And then what? I heal one boy and then a hundred others will come. Before you know it I'll be chained to this village. I've agreed to stay for your sake but I don't plan on staying forever. The answer is no!" Shizune turned and walked out of the door. She would get Tsunade to help; she wasn't going to give up.

*****BREAK*****

It had been two days since Shizune had asked her to help the genin. Tsunade continued to drink her sake and ignore the village. Every day was a painful reminder of what she had lost. Within the confines of their temporary home she could forget exactly where she was. She would imagine it was just another hotel room. Just another village that she was passing through.

A knock sounded at the door. Tsunade grumbled and stood up, only slightly woozy despite the copious amount of alcohol she had consumed. She opened the door and saw the large bulky frame of Choza Akimichi. He was the father of Choji and had come personally to beg for assistance. He bowed his head low, "Tsunade-Sama, your assistant Shizune told me you might have the ability to heal my son." Tsunade twitched with rage, not at Choza but at Shizune.

'How dare she do this to me!'

Tsunade shook her head forcefully. "I'm not here to heal anyone. Sorry." She moved to close the door but Choza pushed his hand in the way. Tsunade could have forced the door close but it would have crushed Choza's hand. "Please, it is what my only my son has ever wanted. I can pay, ask what you want and I will do it!"

Tsunade growled, "What he always wanted? To be a shinobi? To die in battle before his time? Maybe this is a wakeup call for him. Let him be happy doing something that won't get him killed!" The Akimichi clan head frowned, "His dream is to protect his friends. Shikamaru and Ino are his teammates; he wants to be there to protect them." Tsunade swallowed thickly. She had dreamed many times of being there to save her brother. She had dreamed of the chance to heal Dan before he died of his wounds. Those dreams haunted her nights and her days.

A sharp knife of sorrow twisted in her heart. She turned away and in a soft voice said, "My dreams have never come true but I will try to fulfill your sons. Take me to him and I'll see what I can do." Choza thanked her profusely and led her to Choji.

*****BREAK*****

Team eight had taken to Kakashi's training well. It turned out that Kiba was a **Doton** (Earth) user and had found several ways to use his jutsu to argument his taijutsu skills. Shino took to learning medical jutsu with methodical efficiency. The workmanlike attitude Shino displayed impressed Kakashi. Shino was able to manifest chakra scalpels when needed and learned how to repair lacerations and puncture wounds.

With Hinata he had helped only slightly with her taijutsu. Primarily it was her confidence that he had helped most in. Kakashi used a Henge to appear like Hiashi and fought with her. Then he would appear like Naruto. Each time she lost her composure he would stop and ask pointed questions about what she was feeling. Hinata hated it when she asked questions about why she blushed when seeing Naruto.

Hinata was so embarrassed she forced herself not to reveal what she was feeling with her body when they sparred so she would not have to keep answering his questions. She kept her concentration up and focused only on the fight. Soon she was fighting Kakashi as Naruto and then as Hiashi without even blinking. The first time she did this Kakashi congratulated her.

"Finally you have become a shinobi." Hinata looked up at Kakashi, "What do you mean Kakashi-sensei? I was already a shinobi." Kakashi gave her an eye smile, "You have mastered your own body. A shinobi is a master of deception. You control your chakra well; you control your body well in battle. You should also control your heart rate, your breathing and your voice. Social situations are simply another battle field, as a shinobi you must be able to lie, deceive and manipulate. As a kunoichi you may even be called to use your femininity as a weapon."

Hinata almost blushed but forced the heat from her cheeks. She was a shinobi. She was a ninja she would stop acting like a civilian girl. Since those training sessions with Kakashi her confidence grew. By projecting confidence she became confident. While team seven had gone out on B ranked mission after B ranked mission, team eight stuck with the C ranked missions.

That however did not stop the Iwa shinobi from attacking them. The Tsuchikage had sent two separate groups out to test Konoha's abilities. The first had run afoul with team seven the second fought Kurenai's genin team.

**AN: **Quick vote (for the next day or so) should I have the fight scene with team eight versus Iwa? I'm tempted to just skip it so it can stay more focused on team seven but I'll let the reader decide. I also want to let you know I will be making some minor updates (spelling/grammar) to old chapters. I think the site will show that as an "update" and you might get notice this story was updated. My next real update will be on Sunday.


	21. Chapter 20: Striking Back

**AN: **Looks like most folks would prefer to skip team eight's fight so we'll just have a glimpse of it and the outcome.

**Chapter 20:** Striking Back

Tsunade and Shizune performed the procedure on Choji. He would keep the prosthetic leg but Tsunade would actually graft skin and nerves through the prosthetic leg to the bottom of the artificial foot. Chakra could then flow on 'flesh' allowing Choji to use the leg. It would also respond much better to him then a normal prosthetic. Tsunade had to have Jiraiya use a seal that kept the flesh from decaying since no nutrients could flow to it.

The procedure was not dangerous to Choji however it was extremely difficult to do and it took hours of painstaking precision before Tsunade and Shizune were finished. Choji would not be able to use all of his family jutsu but he could definitely now once again be a member of Asuma's team.

Tsunade was thanked over and over again by Shikamaru, Choza, Ino and many others. Tsunade felt a warm glow of accomplishment fill her. She had forgotten what it was like to heal shinobi from Konoha. Walking back to her temporary abode she did not feel the sadness and despair she normally did when walking the paths of Konohagakure. 'Perhaps it's time I stayed here. Shizune is happy and I'm sure I could convince Jiraiya to start a medical program like I had always wanted.'

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi met with the Godaime Hokage towards the end of his team's week off of serious missions. It was late at night and Jiraiya was still doing paperwork. Kakashi chuckled as he entered, "Good evening Hokage-Sama." Jiraiya had sensed him as he came into his office and looked up. "This is your fault you know." Kakashi gave him an eye smile, "My fault? That you have become Hokage and are ensuring our village's protection? Why yes. Yes it is."

The toad sage grumbled, "Gloat all you want behind that mask Kakashi but because of you there won't be any more Icha Icha books!" Kakashi scratched at his mask. "Hmm well that is powerful incentive for me to stop punishing you." Jiraiya looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What do you mean?"

"Well with the training I've used with my students I've learned how to deal with paperwork but I had been keeping it from you since you nearly got my students killed fighting Orochimaru!" Jiraiya nervously laughed, "Oh come on now! How was I supposed to know he would be there?"

"And then you did let yourself be drugged…"

Jiraiya growled, "All right enough! Tell me how to escape this paperwork!" The Hokage glared at Kakashi and warned, "And if you say a Katon jutsu I will be assigning you D ranked missions for the rest of your career!"

Kakashi chuckled, "Maa Maa, no need to be so hasty. It's simple." Kakashi stared at Jiraiya for a few seconds letting the tension mount. "Kage. Bunshin." Jiraiya's eyes popped to their widest possible. The Kage Bunshin could do the paperwork for him! He could easily create a couple and have plenty of time to do research, write his novels and just relax while all the work got done!

Jiraiya had tears in his eyes, "Kakashi… thank you! I thought my life was over, stuck behind this desk never to experience the joy of a sweet round…" Kakashi cleared his throat loudly. For some reason he was OK with reading his erotica but to hear Jiraiya go on about the research that supported was disquieting. "Yes well, I do expect the next book to be autographed. And maybe a little insert thanking me personally for the series being able to continue wouldn't be too out of line either."

Jiraiya laughed, "You got it kid." Jiraiya was dancing for joy on the inside but he put on his Hokage face and simmered down as he got down to business. "All right Kakashi, you mentioned earlier you had a plan you wanted to run by me?"

"Hai, since you have nixed the strike at Suna I believe we should deal with Orochimaru before he can rebuild his shinobi force. Here is what I have in mind." Kakashi was quite detailed in his plans and Jiraiya was soon nodding in agreement. It would be risky but it was far past time for the snake to be brought to justice.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto liked to position one of the clones he had disguised as a villager at the gates on Konoha. That meant he was the first of the rookies to see team eight return from their mission. He was shocked as they were bustled in by a 2nd team that included medical nin. Shino and Hinata were walking on their own though they both had bandages on them. Kurenai was being helped a pair of shinobi while Kiba was being hauled in by a stretcher.

Naruto removed the Henge and approached Hinata, "What happened?" He was anxious; he hated to see his comrades injured. While it was just a clone it still had the same feelings and thoughts as the original. When he dissipated those same feelings and thoughts would transfer over to the real Naruto.

Hinata looked at Naruto. She didn't blush or fidget she just tiredly said, "We were ambushed Iwagakure." Naruto looked at the stretchers and swallowed thickly, "Are they going to be OK?" Hinata looked downcast as she responded, "Kurenai will be but I don't know about Kiba. He lost a lot of blood and his heart stopped, if Shino hadn't learned basic medical training he would be dead."

Naruto wasn't sure what to say but felt obligated to say something. "Everything I've read about Inuzukas tells me they have great stamina and recuperative powers. I'm sure he'll be fine Hinata. Were you hurt?" She looked at Naruto hoping his words were accurate, "I suffered some injuries but took no serious wounds. But… I… I…" Hinata blamed the lack of sleep and exhaustion. Kakashi had trained her better than this. Forcing herself to calm down she spoke clearly, "I killed two Iwa shinobi. I haven't slept well since."

"After what they did to Kiba and Kurenai I'm glad you killed them," the clone said heatedly.

Hinata looked at the blonde haired boy she had always admired. He had taken abuse for years and never retaliated. He was not someone like Sasuke who was bent on the path of revenge. Had he changed now that he had become a shinobi? Was the boy she loved no longer an entity that existed? Or was he merely saying something to make her feel better? Or did he only get angry when it was other people hurt; maybe he wouldn't take vengeance for himself but would do it if his precious people were attacked. Her mind whirled with these questions and she realized she had been silent for several moments.

"Naruto, can we talk later?"

The clone nodded, "Sure and if I can do anything for you or team eight just let me know."

Hinata thanked him and then hurried after her wounded comrades. The Naruto cloned dispelled himself and the real Naruto who had been training his kenjutsu forms received the memories. Naruto was surrounded by his clones who were working on various chakra control exercises. A few clones had been lobbing various objects at him to cut at random intervals to improve his reaction speed while staying true to his kenjutsu style.

"Damn it. Iwagakure must have sent multiple squads to mess with us," Naruto said out loud. He created a few more clones and had them race over to Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi. The clone that went to Kakashi burst into a clearing where Kakashi was training. Kakashi had his own clone that was moving at a high rate of speed around trees, dodging to the side, using shunshin and Kawarimi seemingly at random. Suddenly the air around the clone distorted and seemed to be trying to devour the clone. However the clone wasn't hit square by whatever was absorbing it and was able to Kawarimi away. The Naruto clone saw the piece of wood disappear.

The real Kakashi was breathing quite heavily. His Mangekyo Sharingan had given him the ability to use Kamui. The power of it was frightening however it had significant drawbacks. For one it drastically drained his chakra. Kakashi may have been a genius however he did not naturally have high chakra reserves. With his constant training his chakra reserves had expanded to be near Kage level but with this technique even that did not allow for too many uses. The second and greater risk from a long term perspective is that it damaged his Sharingan.

While the damage wasn't significant over time he suspected he would lose all ability to use his Sharingan. This made it highly frustrating for him to train with it since in effect he only had a finite number of uses of it. He did not know if this was truly finite or if spacing out the uses would delay the effects but testing a hypothesis thoroughly was not an option.

Using it against his clone he realized that S ranked shinobi would not simply die from the attack. However if they were restrained or even briefly caught unaware he could hit with the attack and kill them. And even if they weren't restrained or surprised they could take significant damage, such as losing a limb if they weren't moving at the highest level of speed. Against lesser shinobi there was little someone could do to stop the attack. Since the attack did not use hand seals it was very flexible and death could occur before they even knew Kakashi was preparing to strike.

Kakashi turned to the clone and deactivated his Sharingan. "What is it?" The clone explained that team eight had returned and that it had two members severely injured due to Iwa aggression. Kakashi frowned beneath his mask; he had hoped that Iwa was done with their probing. "Thank you for telling me, I'll go see the Hokage." The clone waved and then went poof to let the real Naruto know the message had been delivered.

The real Naruto was upset. He wasn't sure which Iwagakure shinobi had attacked team eight but if it was the ones that they had let go he would track down whoever was still alive from that squad. Hinata had killed two, she would know if they were the same ones they had fought. It was also possible that all four had been killed. Maybe the other two were killed by the other members of the squad. He wouldn't bother Hinata about it now but he would ask later on.

Naruto was never one to focus on past slights and grievances. The worst he would do to the villagers was pulling pranks on them which were temporarily infuriating but did no lasting harm. Right now hot rage filled his veins and he felt the Kyubi chakra bubble up inside of him. He clamped down on it hard. Breathing heavily he examined his thoughts. He was angry at Iwa for the attack. He was angry that his comrades were injured. He was angry that Hinata was sad.

Would killing Iwa shinobi make him feel better? If he were to ask Sasuke he would receive a yes. If he were to ask Kakashi he would say that revenge could be cathartic but that it should not get in the way of his goals and dreams. If he were to ask Sakura she would say no, that killing wasn't a good thing. He turned over the thoughts in his head while he continued working on his kenjutsu style.

He didn't enjoy killing. Killing someone to protect the village was absolutely something he did with no qualms about it being right. But to kill for no other reason than appease his own selfish psychological need? It wasn't who he wanted to be. If he had to kill Iwa shinobi he would do so without hesitation but he refused to take joy in it. He would not be like the Kyubi who reveled in destruction and pain.

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi met with the Hokage and Shikaku. Jiraiya didn't like having large group discussions, too many opinions and divergent desires made it a chaotic mess. He trusted Kakashi and Shikaku to provide intelligent analysis. Both of them were geniuses and in raw intellect were superior to him. He felt this was balanced because he often made decisions based on his gut as opposed to knowledge. He had little respect for Homura and Koharu. While they possessed wisdom their way of thinking was too closely aligned to Danzo.

Shikaku advised, "It seems unlikely Iwagakure will proceed with aggression. Both attempts have met with disaster, while the second attack was more successful they still were driven back with losses. As of yet we have no intelligence suggesting a troop buildup." Kakashi agreed with the assessment, "The Tsuchikage isn't always predictable but if he bothered with feeling us out surely he's seen that we are still strong."

Kakashi spoke again and said, "The problem is if Kiba doesn't survive his injuries the Inuzuka clan will demand a blood price for the attack." The Hokage waved it off, "Young Kiba was breathing when he got the hospital, with Tsunade helping out he is in no danger. While he may have long term injuries he will definitely survive." Shikaku replied, "In that case we only need to worry about Iwa and I don't think they will be making any moves after this."

Jiraiya pursed his lips in thought, "All right let's give it a few more weeks before we begin our operation against Otogakure. It would be a disaster if our best were out of the village and Iwa was going to attack." They were in agreement on that. They moved on to their plans to deal with Orochimaru.

"Kakashi I've given your proposal more thought and I'm making a change to it."

Only those three knew of Kakashi's plan. Otogakure had used most of its forces to hit their village. Orochimaru was sure to have some powerful pawns available however they could be dealt with. Kakashi proposed a strike team made up of team seven, a four man squad of elite ANBU and a mix of jonin with unique skills to track Orochimaru down if he attempted to flee. The jonin roster would include Tsume Inuzuka for her nose and strength. It would have Shibi Aburame with his insects to provide similar support.

The last two jonin would be Genma Shiranui who had a variety of skills. The last remaining jonin would be Shizune who would provide medical support. In terms of ANBU that was where Jiraiya had some changes planned. "We will only bring two ANBU along. Tenzo (Yamato) and Yugao Uzuki will be selected I have replacements in mind for the other two." Tenzo had access to **Mokuton** (Wood Release) which was both flexible and powerful. Yugao was skilled with kenjutsu and was a sensor shinobi which would also be useful for tracking down the snake Sanin.

Kakashi asked, "Who are the two replacements."

"Anko Mitarashi, I'm afraid she'll never forgive me if I don't include her on this mission." He paused and looked at his two trusted advisors. In a whisper he told them, "And she's really scary." Kakashi's eye twitched. Based on Jiraiya's behavior Naruto's over the top reactions and exclamations weren't behaviors that would prevent him from becoming Hokage. 'I'll never get him to act like a shinobi if I let him spend more time with Jiraiya,' Kakashi thought to himself. . His train of thought was derailed when Jiraiya announced that he would be the 4th member of the ANBU squad.

Kakashi's response was immediate, "You can't do that! You are the Hokage and this is a dangerous mission." Jiraiya laughed, "That's precisely why I should be going. If this mission fails we will have lost most of our elite and up and coming elite. I can make sure that this succeeds. Between the two of us I'm confident Orochimaru can be defeated. If it's just you, even with strong support he could win or inflict casualties and escape. He's one of the Sanin for a reason Kakashi."

Shikaku could see the probability of success sky rocket by including Jiraiya on the mission. However he was the Hokage and if something were to happen to him so quickly after being raised to the position it would make Konoha very vulnerable. "This is troublesome; we are putting all of our kunai in one holster."

"I'd rather go big and lose no kunai, don't worry I'm a better gambler than Tsunade."

"That isn't saying much," Kakashi commented.

"Hey who is the Hokage here?"

Both Shikaku and Kakashi argued against the Hokage risking himself but in the end he was the Hokage. That meant that Kakashi had to ensure everything went well on the mission. Kakashi mused, "So we have three weeks to get the teams ready. I'll be drilling my team hard and limiting their missions. I suggest you have Tenzo, Yugao and Anko work together. Have them prepared to use attacks that will slow down even a Sanin. Do the same for the jonin team."

Jiraiya agreed that was sensible and then looked at his two advisors, "Oh and don't let Tsunade know I'll be bringing Shizune along." Kakashi thought that this was a terrible idea but again it wasn't his place to gainsay the Hokage. And he certainly wasn't going to betray the Godaime's trust by telling the slug princess.

Jiraiya wrapped up the meeting by saying, "While we are gone Shikaku will have control, he will be in a Henge to appear like me. I'll add some seals in the office to ward away dojutsu and chakra sensing. I'll also inform the village that I'm taking three days off to work on my literature and to not disturb me unless it is a dire situation. Eventually it will be discovered however we'll be travelling fast so hopefully no word will reach Orochimaru that I'm out of the village."

Jiraiya continued, "Orochimaru won't be able to resist the temptation of Sasuke. By this time he's already in a new body so he will be forced to try to take Sasuke alive which should give a small advantage to team seven. When you fight Orochimaru fight as cautiously as you can, as soon as we have confirmation you've engaged I will summon Fukasaku and Shima. I will take no chances and go into Sage mode prior to my arrival."

Kakashi and Shikaku still had reservations but they had already said their piece. Shikaku began to think about other ways to obscure the Hokage's departure. Kakashi had some training to do with his team. If Orochimaru had in fact used his jutsu to inhibit a new body he would have his arms back. Kakashi disliked not knowing all of the specifics of how the snake Sanin's immortality jutsu worked. They only had Jiraiya's conjecture that he drew on from spying on Orochimaru's movements for years and recovered research documentation. 'Better plan for the worst. Orochimaru will be at full strength and I need to make sure my team is ready to survive that.'

*****BREAK*****

Sakura was working diligently on fuinjutsu, it had been a surprise when the Hokage visited her and showed her a seal used on the village shelters. The seal hardened the material around it. Stone would take more damage before breaking. Wood could be made resistant to fire. The shelters were covered in these seals, the seals slowly bled chakra around them meaning they had to constantly be replenished.

Sakura got used to making this seal to help out with those efforts. She also was able to experiment slightly with this type of fuinjutsu. If the fuinjutsu failed there would be no explosion. Sakura delighted in the experimentation aspect of fuinjutsu. Depending on the material a different seal could work better, and then it became really complex when you were trying to use the same seal on multiple materials mixed together.

This fuinjutsu had some combat application as well. It could be used on the ground itself, making the immediate area harder to burrow through using Doton. It was a nasty surprise that could counter some of Kabuto's attacks from underneath. Like most fuinjutsu it required more time to complete then standard ninjutsu attacks. In Sakura's case she was confident that her team could protect her.

The pink haired genin spent hours and hours studying fuinjutsu and practicing seals. She had even skipped visiting Kiba in the hospital to practice more. Kiba was going to make a full recovery and needed his rest; one less body there wasn't going to hurt anything. And fuinjutsu was just so fascinating! When Jiraiya had told her that they were going to be going on an S ranked mission she redoubled her efforts to be able to provide offensive support with her fuinjutsu.

While the ground hardening seal may help out she longed for something truly offensive. She wasn't having a whole lot of luck. It was known that **Uzushiogakure no Sato** (Village Hidden by Whirling Tides) was feared for their combat application of fuinjutsu. But almost none of the books provided detail! What exactly were chakra chains? How did fuinjutsu increase the power of elemental jutsu used? The old texts provided precious few details.

It was surprising to her that Jiraiya did not know more. He was a seal master. Shouldn't he know how to use it in combat? The toad sage had just chuckled, "I don't use a lot of fuinjutsu in combat. I tried to warn you it's not necessarily best used in combat." She remembered how he had scratched his head in mild embarrassment, "Of course I told that to the Yondaime and he went on to become known as the 'Yellow Flash' because of his mastery of fuinjutsu allowed him to perfect **Hiraishin no Jutsu **(Flying Thunder God Technique)."

"I guess being a seal master doesn't mean you really have mastered the art of seals…" Jiraiya's jaw dropped and he responded with faux outrage, "Pinky! I know more about seals then anyone alive today!" Sakura laughed; if she hadn't gone on the trip to retrieve Tsunade with him she would never have been so carefree with the Hokage. But since she had, she went ahead and responded, "Well when the village that is full of seal specialists is destroyed I guess they had to lower standards." Jiraiya's mouth worked but no words came out. He crossed his arms and grumped, "I have paperwork to do. Next time ask your sensei for help with fuinjutsu!" With that he zipped away with a shunshin leaving Sakura smirking.

Sakura returned to her fuinjutsu studies even more determined to master the art. So much had been lost. She would be the one to recover it and she would then be an even more integral part of the team. Sakura was confident in her abilities but even with her Genjutsu talent and teamwork she was the weakest link on the team. Naruto had amazing chakra reserves allowing him to summon massive battle toads and nearly endless clones. Not to mention his taijutsu was becoming scary, it wasn't the technique that was dangerous but the sheer power behind the attack. And Sasuke-kun with his Sharingan was even more dangerous in close quarters. He also had a healthy dose of jutsu for two separate chakra types.

'Ah but if I can make fuinjutsu battle worthy I can hold my own. And maybe then Sasuke-kun will see how strong of kunoichi I really am. He wants to restore his clan; he isn't one to let little things like love and feelings impair his goals. He wants revenge first and then to rebuild his clan. He will want a strong kunoichi and that is where I will come in. Then I will teach him about love and kindness and we will be happy for the rest of our lives.'

Sakura was no longer considered a fan girl because of her outward actions. Internally she still had her dream of being married to her Sasuke-kun she was just now picking a path that would give her the most chance. Pushing thoughts of the future aside the strong willed girl continued with her fuinjutsu studies.

*****BREAK*****

Sasuke had been informed of the S ranked mission. Kakashi had also told him that he was essentially going to be used as bait. This then led to a discussion on why Orochimaru wanted his body. His brother Itachi had bested Orochimaru using the Sharingan. Plus the Sharingan could be used to copy nearly any jutsu which was a major goal for Orochimaru.

Sasuke didn't mind being used as bait. In fact he was looking forward to it. If Itachi could defeat Orochimaru it would be a good test to see how close he was to his brother. Despite his youthful pride he knew that Orochimaru would utterly decimate him in a one on one battle. With his team behind him it should be an excellent test. Sasuke had come to a decision – he would not be facing Itachi alone. Not having his team with him would be like going into battle without kunai or without his Sharingan active.

An essential part of his shinobi fighting style was teamwork. Sasuke was aware enough to know that Kakashi had done this deliberately but frankly he didn't care. As long as his team was willing to go after Itachi he was happy to be part of it. Sasuke was confident that Sakura and Naruto would gladly stand by him and help get his revenge.

He lived for the day he could take Itachi down. He would avenge his village, his clan and his family. He idly wondered if Itachi would beg before he died. While Sasuke was tempted to torture his older brother like he had been tortured it went against the training Kakashi taught. As long as an enemy is alive they are threat. When the final battle with Itachi took place Sasuke was determined to end it using precision, there would be no mistakes. After the battle ended he could revel in his victory but not a moment before.

Sasuke manipulated the Chidori in his hand. With his Sharingan aiding him he had started to manipulate the jutsu. He had increased the strike range by a few inches and in theory he could actually have it extend much further. He'd discuss it with Kakashi during their next training session. Thoughts of ramming a Chidori blade into Itachi's heart spurred him on as he continued his training.

**AN:** Some of the scenes are a bit short. I always have mixed feeling on that sort of thing. Do people want three pages about a surgery? Personal preference I'd rather read a 300k story that moves the plot along rather than a 700k story that meanders in the weeds.

Also I've got some issues with some of the late magna stuff that goes on. I'm not sure how AU I'm going to make it outside of the change with Kakashi. Some of the changes probably can't be linked to the ripple of effects he has caused.


	22. Chapter 21: Otogakure

**AN: **Please review!

**Chapter 21: **Otogakure

The twelve shinobi had made good time and had arrived at the Sound village with no problems. Unlike other villages Otogakure did not have a robust population. In fact pretty much everyone was either a shinobi or a slave. It was even more depopulated due to the recent invasion of Konoha and the free for all to determine who would make the best host for Orochimaru.

Jiraiya was behind the ANBU mask and gave out orders. Team seven was to move forward and advance into the village itself. Coming in from another angle the jonin team would also hit the village. They were dubbed team Sparrow. The ANBU team would follow a bit back from the two lead teams in between them. Their only purpose was to find out where Orochimaru was and take him down.

Jiraiya could feel Anko's nervous tension. 'I may have made a mistake including her. The modification to the seal containing her cursed seal will prevent Orochimaru from sensing her approach but she is too eager.' There was no time to make a change in plans so he would just have to hope it wasn't going to be a costly mistake.

Jiraiya watched team seven as they moved out with practiced efficiency. They kept their chakra levels low, soon they would be spotted but until then they moved with quite a bit of stealth. Naruto had left some clones behind with Jiraiya's squad, if need be Jiraiya could give orders to the clone who could then dissipate. Shibi had also planted a kikaichu on everyone which would allow him to know the direction of all members of each squad. The final communication piece was short wave radios in ear pieces that each of the strike team members had.

A voice crackled on the line, it was Kakashi. "Hostiles have spotted us, three chunin level threats, we'll take them down." Jiraiya forced himself not to come rushing in. At this point there was no danger but still it went against the grain to simply wait while others put their lives on the line.

'My time will come soon enough,' Jiraiya thought to himself.

*****BREAK*****

With the team being spotted and the alarm being raised there was no point in Kakashi's squad to continue going forward with stealth. Naruto created fifty clones and had them Henge into various leaf chunin. They then charged forward with a variety of weapons in hand, kunai, katanas and other assorted weaponry.

The three chunin were massacred. Kakashi drove forward at top speed and jammed a kunai through the heart of one before dashing off and finishing the second one with a kunai through the neck. Sasuke finished the third in a sharp but very brief taijutsu duel that ended with Sasuke snap kicking the enemy shinobi in the ribs breaking them and driving a shard of bone into her lung. Sasuke then easily finished the kunoichi off with a kunai through her heart.

Sakura conserved her chakra; it would be much harder soon. Kakashi reported through his headset, "Threats neutralized. There is very little resistance to the clones. No sign of Orochimaru or Kabuto."

Unlike other villages Otogakure was partially underground. This is where Orochimaru housed his experiments and completed his research. Team seven breached the entrance; Naruto sent several clones in first to see what threats awaited. They triggered the first set of traps which sent explosions and shrapnel down the tunnel. The real team seven was far enough away that it was of no concern. Naruto again used the Kage Bunshin to scout ahead.

There were many twists and rooms in the sterile corridors. The place at times seemed abandoned. One Naruto clone heard heavy footsteps around the corner and skidded to a halt. Around the corner a massive Doki (Rage Ogre) swung its club aiming for the Naruto clone. The clone utilizing its superior speed dodged the club, drew its katana and sliced its belly open. Not yet defeated the creature snarled with pain and slammed its weapon down at his nimble opponent.

The Naruto clone far outmatched the Doki in speed. It was child's play to avoid the attacks. The clone carved the Doki up in the next ten seconds and then finished it with a partial decapitation in the neck. The clone heard clapping in the distance. "Pretty impressive for trash, now try handling two at once!" Tayuya was a member of the Sound Four and was quite irritated at the thought that someone would dare attack Orochimaru's base.

One Doki burst through the wall surprising the clone and nearly connected with its mass. The last creature charged down the hall from in front of Tayuya with bone claws on its arms. The Naruto clone had its work cut out for him. Tayuya was impressed by the boy's speed and quickly activated her curse seal to lend more strength. She could see despite facing a two on one the katana wielding Konoha shinobi was too fast to get hit by their attacks.

She began to use her Genjutsu but as soon as she began a 2nd shinobi with a Konoha headband with two Kunai in his fists leapt on the bandaged Doki and buried the Kunai into the neck. The creature gave out a howl of pain and crashed backwards. This left the first threat time to race past the Doki it was engaged in and attack Tayuya directly. Tayuya cursed, even with her cursed seal mode she was not great at taijutsu and her opponent was fast.

She activated her curse seal again allowing her to evolve to the second stage. Horns grew from her head and her strength was greatly enhanced. She tried to gain distance from her opponent to use her flute but he gave her no opportunity. Most shinobi would have wanted to boast about their accomplishment after killing her her summon but this one stayed silent and just kept attacking.

Frustration mounting Tayuya put her flute away so she could use Kawarimi with a nearby chair. The chair was splintered from the downward strike. Tayuya swallowed her pride and raced down the hall trying to put distance between her and the kenjutsu speed freak. Her more powerful legs in the level two curse form giving her incredible speed.

A third Konoha shinobi met her down the hall with a **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). If she hadn't been in her curse form she would have been blown away. However even with her greatly enhanced strength the attack affected her. It stopped her forward momentum and to her horror her other opponent was already on her. The katana pierced her as she was turning. The kill stroke went through her heart. The Naruto clone then cleanly decapitated her. Tayuya, the self proclaimed most powerful of the Sound Four never even realized she had been defeated by clones instead of three different Konoha shinobi.

*****BREAK*****

Shibi and his team had breached the base as well. He was level headed and clam as his squad encountered their opponents. Each of their enemies had transformations they could undergo. One turned into a spider like creature and another simply grew larger and more muscular. The last threat was a boastful individual by the name of Sakon was actually two people in one body.

Tsume was quite formidable in the battle, taking on the large one single handedly. Even with the heavy set Oto shinobi activating his curse seal he could not defeat the experienced Inuzuka clan leader. She fought with a ferocity that was part due to her relationship with her companion and part due to her rage as a mother of a wounded child. While Orochimaru hadn't directly assaulted Kiba, his near death was indirectly related. If Konoha had never been invaded Iwa would not have probed for weakness. Tsume and her companion literally ripped into Jirobo and the sounds of tearing flesh and his screams echoed through the chamber.

Sakon attempted to inhabit Shibi's body but had failed to realize it was as bug clone. That attempted fail and his chakra was soon being drained by the kikaichu. Shizune spat poisoned senbon at him striking him and filling him with a poison that even Orochimaru had not encountered. Weakened by the poison and the chakra draining bugs he soon succumbed.

The spider like opponent faced Genma and they battled with projectiles. The arrows he attempted to fire always had to be hastily fired because Genma also rained senbon down on him with tremendous striking power. In fact the force was strong enough that the jonin was he even able to partially deflect an arrow which incensed Kidomaru. The Oto nin saw Jirobo ripped apart and Sakon being drained of chakra. He spat webbing to slow down pursuit and turned tale to run. Tsume went to give chase after finishing her massacre but Shibi called out to halt. "Let my clone go first, there may be traps or other enemies." Tsume growled but obeyed the squad leader. She didn't like having to follow orders; it went against her alpha perspective. However Jiraiya had made it clear Shibi was in charge of the squad and if she didn't like it then she could stay in Konoha.

Shibi spoke over the frequency, "Two low jonin level threats neutralized, one fleeing. No sign of Orochimaru."

*****BREAK*****

Orochimaru was surprised that his hidden village was being attacked. He had assumed Konoha would still be licking their wounds from the invasion. Kabuto had informed him of the attack and then shortly afterward he felt Tayuya die. The curse mark allowed him some knowledge of the physical state of the bearers of his mark as long as they were within a few miles of him.

"It seems they are serious about this attack. What do you have for me Kabuto?" Kabuto informed him, "Team seven being led by Kakashi has hit our base on the eastern side." Orochimaru looked up and licked his lips with his too long tongue, "Is Sasuke with them?" Kabuto nodded, "It appears so though it could be a clone. I believe all of team seven is together."

"Kukuku, they have brought me a present how nice of them."

"Lord Orochimaru there are more attackers. Another squad of jonin level attackers has hit our northern entrance. I've dispatched the remaining Sound Four to deal with them." Orochimaru nodded and Kabuto continued, "A squad of ANBU appears to be observing and have yet to enter the base."

Orochimaru tasted the air with his tongue. "I'll keep the ANBU squad busy with a few summons. Wake up Kimimaro and have him reinforce the Northern side." Kabuto saw Orochimaru perform the summoning Jutsu and sent a few moderately sized serpents out of the base toward the ANBU squad. Orochimaru grinned, "Kakashi is a fool if he thinks he's improved enough to take me on. Come with me Kabuto, you handle the brats while I deal with their sensei. Keep Sasuke alive and kill the rest."

Kabuto pushed his glasses up and smiled. He was not going to be caught unawares again. He was going to get revenge on those cocky rookies and show them why he was Orochimaru's right hand.

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi saw Orochimaru with his Sharingan behind the stone wall of a larger more open section of the base. It wasn't large enough to fit a truly massive summon like Gamabunta but it would fit summons who were a good sized larger than a human. The area was not a manmade structure but a natural part of the underground region that connected two parts of Orochimaru's base. Naruto had his clones fan out in front. Orochimaru laughed. In one hand he casually held a blade; on his left side was Kabuto. Kakashi saw another Orochimaru blend in with the wall itself around 30 feet behind the Orochimaru mud clone.

Kakashi flared his chakra raising his killing intent; this signaled Jiraiya that Orochimaru had been spotted. If all went to plan Jiraiya would then began summoning 'Ma' and 'Pa' and entire sage mode. Normally Kakashi favored quick battles that began and ended with brutal efficiency however in this case he would play the part of a stereotypical shinobi who talked and boasted before fighting.

"Kukuku, was that suppose to impress me Kakashi?" Kakashi responded, "Just a taste of what's to come Orochimaru. I am the strongest shinobi in Konoha. And yet every time I'm mentioned as the strongest the caveat is always that I am the strongest shinobi outside of the Sanin. After today everyone will know I am above the Sanin and truly the greatest shinobi since my Sensei."

"You think you are on my level Kakashi? You deluded fool, I think I'll keep you alive to see two of your students brutally killed and then I'll take Sasuke for myself. Jiraiya must be getting senile if he thought you and your students could challenge me."

"You're old Orochimaru, I'm in my prime. The reason I'll win is the same reason you beat the Sandaime… age."

The Orochimaru mud clone twirled the blade in his hand, "Are you forgetting that I have a fresh body Kakashi? Its time you learned to respect your betters!"

Everything seemed to happen at once. The clone opened its mouth and dozens of snakes slithered out at a rapid pace going for whoever was closest. The Naruto clones began slashing at them immediately. Kabuto hurled dozens of scalpels coated with poison at the genin of team seven. The Orochimaru mud clone danced forward with his blade aiming for Kakashi.

Kakashi stepped backward avoiding the blow. Orochimaru stalked after him as Kakashi danced away from the blade. Meanwhile a pair of Naruto clones had shouted out **"Futon: Reppusho" **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) and had battered away Kabuto's projectiles. Kabuto called out, "So you like clones Naruto? Two can play at that game!" Kabuto made his own Kage Bunshin used it to burrow beneath the ground.

The Naruto clones finished dicing the snakes. The cloned Kabuto erupted from the ground and immediately attempted to strike at Sakura. This time it was the real Sakura however she was expecting the attack and was able to dodge away from the Kabuto clone. Sasuke lashed out with a kick that the clone didn't even attempt to block. Sasuke then watched in shock as the clones exploded. He was sent careening backwards, singed on his arms and face.

The real Kabuto laughed, "Turnabout is fair play isn't it?" The Naruto clones dashed forward throwing Kunai ahead of them as they descended on Kabuto. Kabuto substituted with one of the few remaining live snakes and rammed a chakra scalpel into the back of a Naruto clone dissipating it. Sakura immediately struck with her Genjutsu shouting, "**Raiton: Mahi" **(Lighting Release: Paralysis). Kabuto flinched for a fraction of a second before dispelling the Genjutsu. Kabuto moved with full speed and strength darting for Sakura. Sakura was not his real target, it was a feint and he had then dashed at Sasuke who was recovering from the blast.

Two Naruto clones interposed themselves each with a katana aimed for him. He split between them tossed a poisonous smoke bomb behind him. The smoke bomb wasn't an inhaled gas; it was acidic vapor that dissolved the clones on contact. Sasuke watched the attack coming with his Sharingan and readied his Chidori. Kabuto laughed as he completed the Kawarimi again without using any hand signs. The Chidori struck a piece of debris instead of its intended target.

"I wonder how many times you can use that attack before you get exhausted Uchiha."

Sasuke ground his teeth in frustration, unlike the last battle it was Kabuto who was playing them like a harp.

Meanwhile Kakashi was warily keeping an eye on the real Orochimaru and how his students were doing. He had yet to seriously engage and continued to simply back away from the clone. It was easier to play defense then to attack and the clone didn't seem in any hurry. "My my Kakashi this is quite sad. All your brave talk and all you are doing is running away trying to analyze my movements with your precious Sharingan."

Kakashi pretended to have the words effect him and he lashed forward with a kunai. The mud clone swung his blade and Kakashi ducked underneath and went to slam his kunai into the clone's chest. The Orochimaru clone grabbed Kakashi's arm and shoved him away. With some distance between them the clone lifted his left hand and used **Sen'eijashu** (Striking Shadow Snakes). Snakes erupted from his arm and attempted to latch onto Kakashi. The elite jonin saw them coming with his Sharingan and easily cut them to pieces before they could pierce his flesh.

The mud clone chuckled, "Are you ready to get serious Kakashi? At least try to making this amusing for me." Kakashi flipped the kunai in his hand and threw it at the mud clone who easily deflected it. Kakashi began circling the Orochimaru mud clone tossing kunai at it. Each kunai was deflected with barely a twitch of the wrist.

"Hmm Kakashi what are you planning? Why are you trying to stall? Do you think you need the help of the other squad infiltrating my base? I thought you were going to prove yourself superior to the Sanin?"

The three genin had gone on the offense against Kabuto. The Naruto clones pressed in closer against Kabuto who showcased his medical nin reflexes and dodged the attacks. Sakura attempted another Genjutsu that failed, since then she started working on her fuinjutsu seals on the earth. Kabuto was mildly curious as to what she was doing but the clones kept pressing him and pushed him away from her.

With so many clones in close proximity Kabuto threw a kunai wrapped with multiple explosive seals in the middle of them. They immediately sprang away but the blast dissipated several of them. Sasuke wasn't finished with his opponent however. He signaled Naruto for the attack they had planned. The clones backed away and began throwing kunai at Kabuto while Sasuke slowly prowled forward.

Kabuto smirked and brought his chakra scalpels to bear against the young Sharingan user. Sasuke charged forward and then abruptly halted. Three Naruto clones had walked up the wall and now stood on the ceiling and called out in unison **"Futon: Daitoppa"** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). The force blasted Kabuto from above toward the ground. Kabuto instantly used **Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu** (Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu) to disappear into the rock. At that same moment Sakura placed the fuinjutsu seal on the ground hardening the rock. Just prior to that moment the real Naruto had summoned Gama in full toad armor. The nine foot tall toad knew what expected of it and leapt into position.

Kabuto had excellent chakra control and a large chakra reserve so he was able to pierce back through the rock fairly easily. However the jutsu was supposed to be stealthy, the fuinjutsu made it loud and obvious where Kabuto would come out. Sasuke was already flipping through hand seals and finished **Raiton: Shichu Shibari** (Lighting Release: Four Pillar Bind) right where Kabuto burst through the floor.

The lighting trapped him, it wouldn't hold someone of his skill long but it was long enough for Kakashi to activate Kamui on Kabuto. The snake Sannin felt the pressure build up behind Kakashi's eye and moved. The real Orochimaru used the body flicker technique to race toward Kabuto. Orochimaru was not sentimental about his servant but he did not want to lose such a strong subordinate. At the same time the mud clone lashed out at the distracted Kakashi with its blade. Gama leapt in front of Kakashi and blocked the blade with his armored forearm.

The real Orochimaru grabbed Kabuto by the arm right as Kakashi's Kamui began to warp the air around Kabuto. Orochimaru managed to arrive in time to save Kabuto's life but not in enough time to save his entire right leg from being ripped off of him. Orochimaru threw Kabuto backwards as Naruto clones charged forward blades slashing down. Orochimaru hissed proceeded to annihilate the attacking clones with his superior strength and speed.

Kabuto was in tremendous pain but he was able to begin staunching the wound with his medical jutsu. The spy was shaken to the core; he doubted he had ever been as close to death as he had been there. A tenth of a second later and he would have lost his leg and lower abdomen which would have killed him for sure.

Kakashi was breathing heavily after using his Mangekyo Sharingan. The real Orochimaru had just finished annihilating a dozen Naruto clones. Orochimaru charged Kakashi, now fully realizing just how dangerous of an opponent he really was. The mud clone also charged forward but Gama and more Naruto clones were keeping it away from the fight. The mud clone had limited amounts of chakra and would soon dissipate if it actually tried to use a strong ninjutsu.

The real Orochimaru lashed out with the real Kusanagi held in his mouth while his hands blurred. Orochimaru stabbed out with the blade just as he finished his "**Doton**: **Doryuso**" (Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears). Unlike the normal version that targeted a small area this enhanced jutsu filled the entire cavern with spears. Clones popped left and right and Gama only avoided death by his armor preventing the spears from piercing. Sakura barely managed to avoid injury as she dodged the floor turning into spikes. Her eyes widened at the immense power Orochimaru had used to completely shatter her fuinjutsu and increase the normal size of the Doton jutsu.

The real Naruto took an earth spear the thigh and clutched it in pain. Sasuke with the aid of his Sharingan avoided harm without too much difficulty as did Kakashi. Kakashi also had to worry about the deadly blade racing to rip him in two. Leaping over the blade Kakashi began his own string of hand seals and completed **Doton: Doryu Taiga** (Earth Release: Earth Flow River) to turn some of the spike into a wave of earthy mud that threatened to engulf Orochimaru. The Sanin just sneered and used his superior chakra control to shove off of the muddy river and attack Kakashi again.

Naruto broke off the rock spear in his leg and pulled it out. He hastily wrapped the bloody wound in bandages. He forced himself to stand and summon another batch of clones, half of which charged at the very wounded Kabuto. The Orochimaru mud clone backed away from Gama and moved to protect Kabuto. A half dozen Naruto clones sucked in air and used **Futon: Shinkugyoku** (Wind Release Vacuum Bullets) all aimed at Kabuto. The mud clone used the last of its chakra to create an earth wall in front of the wounded servant and then collapsed in a pile of mud, no longer able to maintain its form.

Orochimaru summoned more snakes out of his hands at Kakashi who was hard pressed to deal with the sword and the snakes. Kakashi used the Sharingan eye to its fullest managing to find safety from snake bite and blade strikes by the thinnest of margins. Kakashi made his own mud clone to give him a moments respite so he could charge up his Raikiri. Orochimaru warily eyed the dense lighting chakra before dispatching the Kakashi mud clone. For a moment Orochimaru felt a Genjutsu take hold but he forced his chakra to dispel it without even taking a moment to gather it.

In that briefest of moments Kakashi struck out, Orochimaru dodged away from the lightning cutter and lashed out with his legendary sword. The snake Sannin saw Sasuke charge in with his Chidori at the same time as he made his attack. Kakashi dodged the sword and then did a leg sweep at the precise moment the Chidori was about to slice into Orochimaru. However the missing nin caught Sasuke's wrist with the Chidori inches from his chest and simple snapped it, Sasuke gave a cry of pain. Orochimaru threw the wounded boy away as he jumped to avoid Kakashi's sweep.

A hail of kunai from the Naruto clones screamed toward Kakashi's opponent. More snakes swarmed out of Orochimaru's sleeves intercepting the kunai and landing on the floor racing towards the clones hoping to bite them. Meanwhile Kabuto had healed his stumped leg; he was no longer in danger of bleeding to death. Low on stamina Kabuto created a shadow clone to take his place and then hobbled to one leg and pushed chakra into his one foot to shove himself away from the battle, the earth wall wasn't going to last long.

Orochimaru sensed his subordinate fleeing to safety. He then also felt the deaths of two more of his Sound Four. 'This has proven a costly attack. I'm going to make Kakashi suffer for this,' he angrily thought.

Kakashi gave Orochimaru an eye smile, "Now it's time for the real fight traitor." Those words heralded Jiraiya in full senjutsu mode bursting onto the scene. The two toad sages sat on his shoulders and his bulbous features were solemn. Orochimaru was shocked to see his former teammate here. It was rare for a Hokage to leave the village outside of a shinobi world war. The snake Sanin laughed, "Kukuku, so you've come to kill me Jiraiya? You have never been my equal and today I get the kill my second Hokage just months after I killed the first!"

**AN: ** Writing fight scenes can be difficult, I don't want to under or overate anyone. Kabuto went down fairly easy because he got focused on by four separate individuals. The Naruto clones used the wind jutsu to force him underground. Sakura made the earth harder to break allowing Sasuke to set up his trap jutsu right where he would appear and then Kakashi used his Kamui for the 'kill.' 

The next chapter will be more fighting – primarily done by the Sanin but you all know how much Kakashi likes teamwork…


	23. Chapter 22: Death and Darkness

**AN: **Enjoy!

**Chapter 22:** Death and Darkness

Shibi cautiously led his team forward deeper into the base. His bug clone led the way keeping a wary watch for any traps or ambushes. Tsume sniffed and said, "Someone is coming. It's an odd scent but it smells like sickness and decay." Shibi signaled his team to prepare an ambush. If the enemy was coming out after them it played in their favor.

The four jonin were reasonably confident that they could handle anything here. They had sensed the killing intent unleashed and knew that Kakashi's team was facing Orochimaru and that Jiraiya was swiftly moving out to help out.

Genma laid down some explosive tags and covered them with **Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu** (Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique). Shizune readied another pair of poisoned senbon and Shibi tensed ready to bring his insects down on the threat that approached them. Tsume just growled and bared her teeth, after the trap went off and the others threw their projectiles she was going to rip whatever was left of their opponent to pieces.

*****BREAK*****

Anko ignored Tenzo's order to slow down. Jiraiya had raced toward Orochimaru's position after activating Sage mode. Within that mode Anko could not possibly hope to keep up and she desperately wanted to be there when Orochimaru was killed.

So far her contribution to the battle had been to take down a simple giant snake that had assaulted their group. The other snake had been dealt with by Tenzo's **Mokuton** (Wood Release). The snake had been wrapped in solid trunks of wood and had been crushed to death. Anko was determined to do more than kill a simple snake summon.

Yugao and Tenzo watched Anko push more and more chakra into her feet to race across the ground. Yugao and Tenzo did not follow at that pace. Tenzo turned to his companion, "We will want to preserve our chakra. We will do no good arriving exhausted. Yugao nodded and kept an even pace as they watched Anko's form slowly grow smaller.

*****BREAK*****

Jiraiya was filled with natural energy. That energy greatly enhanced his strength, toughness, speed and jutsu. His natural energy infused chakra ripped apart the stone ground as he raced at full throttle toward Orochimaru. The snake Sanin was caught off guard at the sheer speed. Jiraiya lashed out with a thunderous kick when he was in range.

Orochimaru blocked with his arm and felt the bone crack. He was shoved off his feet and slammed into the wall. He instantly performed a Kawarimi and avoided the swarm of needles that Jiraiya had shot from his head with his **Hari Jigoku** (Needle Hell). Orochimaru glanced at the stone wall he had rammed into, all of the needles that had been created form Jiraiya's hair had pierced the wall completely through.

Jiraiya immediately found his opponent and dashed forward. Orochimaru used his blade to strike at his former teammate who easily caught the blade in his palms and wrenched it down and followed it up with a Senjutsu fueled kick. The kick came in far faster and stronger then Orochimaru expected and he felt ribs break. Orochimaru let go of his sword and rolled with the kick and spat out a hastily formed **Katon: Karyudan** (Fire Dragon Bullet). However this was countered by Fukasaku using** Suiton: Mizudeppo** (Water Release: Water Gun). The water slammed into the fire and since it had elemental superiority the attack was defeated.

Through the steam Jiraiya came charging in. Orochimaru ducked the blow and dodged to the side and attempted to lash out with his own knife hand strike. Jiraiya caught the blow with one hand and held it in place as he used his other to punch Orochimaru in the sternum, cracking it. Not yet done Jiraiya pulled his fist back again and punched toward his face. Orochimaru used his free hand to deflect the blow and opened his mouth which let a viper out to strike at Jiraiya's face.

Jiraiya released Orochimaru and caught the viper in his hand and crushed it before it could strike. Orochimaru leapt backward. 'How is this possible? I have always been his superior in taijutsu!' Orochimaru realized it must have be the Senjutsu that was tipping the balance. Orochimaru knew he wasn't going to be able to face him in taijutsu and win. His thoughts were interrupted as Kakashi struck out while he was still in mid air.

Kakashi lashed out with his kunai headed for the snake Sanin's heart. Orochimaru, mid air broken sternum and all caught Kakashi's hand as he was stabbing and then stiffened his fingers and struck at Kakashi's throat. The stiffened fingers met little resistance as it wasn't the real Kakashi. Instead it was a **Raiton Kage Bunshin** (Lighting Release: Shadow Clone). The clone burst into electricity badly electrocuting Orochimaru. Kunai raced up from the Naruto clones towards Orochimaru, several sticking into him.

Orochimaru landed in a heap, bursting from his skin a new Orochimaru leapt up, completely unharmed. Normally Orochimaru liked to regurgitate his new body as a way of cowing his opponents but against his current set of enemies that was too dangerous. The downside of his technique is that it drained a great deal of chakra. Despite his arrogance Orochimaru realized that he was in actual danger here.

He considered his options. Taijutsu had already been ruled out. Ninjutsu was another field Orochimaru had always been stronger than Jiraiya in however there were two toad sages with him and one of them had already demonstrated a high degree of speed and power with his ninjutsu. Not to mention Kakashi was still there and he had an extensive library of ninjutsu that he could call on to use and counter.

Genjutsu was out against a Sharingan foe and with two toad sages in close contact with Jiraiya he would not succumb to that either. Summons weren't going to make a difference; Manda couldn't be summoned in this environment. While Manda could break through rock and earth easily enough it was impossible to summon something larger than the space it could fit in. And even if he did summon Manda his opponents had the jinchuuriki who had demonstrated his ability in summoning the great battle toads of Mount Myoboku.

Orochimaru had not had time to prepare corpses for **Kuchiyose:** **Edo** **Tensei** (Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation). It took the genius only a second to quickly filter through options that weren't going to work. The last option was risky but Orochimaru refused to turn tail and run. Not when he had a transformation technique which would allow him to kill all of the foes arrayed against him.

'It's absurd that I have to resort to this but so be it.'

*****BREAK*****

Kimimaro walked into the trap team Sparrow had laid for him. The Genjutsu covered explosive tags exploded beneath his feet however due to his kekkei genkai bone plates immediately shielded him and the only harm he suffered was a brief stumble. Senbon screamed at him, some were shot with tremendous force while others were laced with poison. Bones erupted underneath Kimimaro's skin deflecting the dangerous needles.

Bugs that had been crawling on the ceiling descended down on top of Kimimaro. That was a danger so the one time leader of Orochimaru's bodyguards dashed forward ready to take down the intruders before his chakra was devoured. He activated the first level of his cursed seal at the same time.

Tsume was waiting to pounce and did so with her normal ferocity. This proved to be the worst move she could possibly make. Kimimaro saw Tsume coming and didn't even try to block, he just let her come in close and then let his bones burst out from him. If she hadn't been only 8 inches away she could have dodged, after all she was a skilled jonin. But with her being less than a foot away from protruding bone spikes, there was simply no time to do anything.

One bone pierced her arm; another two went through her belly and chest. Those wouldn't have been fatal if Shizune could have reached her in time. The bone spike that went through her throat however would have ended her life even if Shizune had been right at her side. The jonin squad looked on in shock at the sudden destruction of their taijutsu specialist. Tsume's companion Kuromaru let out a howl of despair as it charged in and met a similar fate.

Genma cursed and backed down the hallway. Shibi ran across the top of the ceiling and jumped down behind Kimimaro. Kimimaro lashed out with bones extending from his body but Shibi dodged backwards and away from the dangerous enemy. Genma didn't want to use any Katon against the opponent for fear of burning the insects that Shibi had eating their opponent's chakra. He pulled out a smoke bomb and tossed it down the hall, hopefully trying to disorient his opponent.

Kimimaro eventually caught up to Shibi and impaled him with his bones however instead of another dead Konoha shinobi the body dissipated into another swarm. The insects continued to work on him and he didn't have anything that could shake them. Luckily for him the curse seal gave him a large amount of chakra to work with. Kimimaro raced back down the hall and after the Aburame.

Genma had lashed two kunai to the wall and had ninja wire strung between them. With the smoke in the air Kimimaro did not see the wire and tripped over it. He rolled gracefully and kept moving down the hall ignoring the explosive tags going off around him that were easily deflected by his bone plates that sprang up in his defense.

Shizune used **Dokugiri** (Poison Mist) on the advancing Kimimaro. Shizune had worked with Shibi to determine a poisonous mixture that would not hurt his kikaichu. Kimimaro had no such protection. He held his breath as best he could but had taken the slightest whiff and now was coughing badly. He sank to his knees. Already ill this exacerbated his condition. With pure will power he stood up and shouted, "I will not fail Lord Orochimaru!"

Catching sight of the three attackers he used his most devastating ability. **Sawarabi no Mai** (Dance of the Seedling Fern) caused Orochimaru's base to rumble. Beneath the three jonin's feet hundreds of sharp bones of various sizes exploded up from the ground. Shizune had been trained as a medical nin so she had the best reflexes and she leapt away bouncing from previously risen bones to avoid the new bones rising up from the ground.

Shibi was not so lucky and had a bone spike driven through his arm, another scraped his side painfully but not dangerously so. Genma had tried to dodge but ended up being impaled in the belly. Genma grabbed the massive jutting bone with his hands so he would not slide down and tear open his body further. He coughed blood and felt his body tremble with weakness.

Shizune being the last uninjured attacker was the natural target for the last Kaguya. He rose up out of a bone shard with a drill like bone structure for a right arm and swiped it at Tsunade's apprentice. Shizune was no slouch at taijutsu and managed to dodge the attack and respond with more senbon aimed for the eyes. The senbon were not dangerous but as bone instinctually sought to protect Kimimaro it would temporarily blind him. Shizune used that time to create distance between her and her opponent.

Kimimaro felt agony course through his body as he was about to continue the attack. Shizune watched with wide eyes how the seemingly invincible opponent suddenly dropped dead in front of her. Wary in case of a trap she created a shadow clone to check for signs of life. Shibi who was nearby informed her that his allies could no longer detect life either. With confirmation of no immediate danger Shizune raced to Genma, he was hurt badly and would need her medical jutsu.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto had watched Jiraiya in awe. His speed and strength were on a level that he had never seen before. Orochimaru, the man that had killed the third Hokage had been driven back in seconds. Naruto snapped out his slack jawed awe to send some more clones to finally get past the wall of earth and get at Kabuto to finish him off.

Kabuto threw kunai at the advancing clones but with one leg and limited chakra he was quickly dispatched with a katana through the chest which revealed that it was simply a shadow clone. One clone dispelled to let the real Naruto know that Kabuto had escaped deeper into Otogakure. Naruto saw Sasuke's broken wrist and knew he wouldn't be too much help. Sakura was still doing all right so he told her quickly, "Sakura I can't move my leg well and the clones I make will be under the same restriction however we need to finish off Kabuto. Take Gama and my clones and finish him off, I'll direct assistance from the ANBU squad when they arrive."

Sakura signaled her agreement and went further down the hall as Naruto saw the Raiton clone electrocute Orochimaru. Naruto and clones threw dozens of kunai at the falling S ranked Nin; he was surprised that they actually struck. Naruto figured it was too good to be true and wasn't surprised when Orochimaru burst out of his old skin. Well he wasn't surprised that Orochimaru hadn't died but he was surprised by the gross way he survived. Some sort of liquid was still on him clinging to his form. 'Gross,' Naruto thought.

Naruto had his clones back away – he didn't want to interfere with Jiraiya-sensei or Kakashi-sensei as they dealt with a dangerous opponent. He would only strike when an opening was obvious. Naruto heard Orochimaru laugh, "Kukuku, I can't believe you are making me use this Jiraiya-baka." Orochimaru put his hands together and exploded in size.

His features rapidly became snake like as his mass swelled. The area was large enough from end to end to accommodate the increased mass however the ceiling was not. That proved no barrier however as Orochimaru's snake form began to grow multiple heads and multiple tails. The heads smashed through stone ceiling with contemptuous ease. A distant crash and shaking acted as a counterpoint to Orochimaru's giant transformation that was collapsing the roof above everyone's heads.

Falling rock and debris were easy enough for Kakashi, Jiraiya and Sasuke to dodge however Naruto had a wounded leg. Naruto went with a risky impromptu strategy and made a Rasengan in his hand. He hefted it above his head pointing at the ceiling and the falling debris. He then crouched and made his body as small as possible. Any falling debris, even massive chunks of rock would first hit the destructive power of the Rasengan and be blasted apart.

It worked for the first stone but then the swirling energy lost cohesion and power. A stone clipped his shoulder with bone jarring force and Naruto stifled a cry of pain. Kakashi saw this happening with his Sharingan and completed a Kawarimi with debris near Naruto and grabbed the jinchuuriki and continued to evade the falling rocks. When the last of the falling rocks had stopped Naruto was let go and looked up at the truly enormous eight headed and eight tailed snake.

Open sky reigned above them now. Naruto had fought Manda before, the world's largest serpent. But this monstrosity was even larger than Manda! Naruto immediately began planning for some way to defeat it. He knew Jiraiya and Kakashi were doing the same. Naruto grabbed for his chakra kunais and began tying explosive tags to them. While it hadn't defeated Manda it had distracted it and caused the snake a great deal of pain, maybe it would do the same against Orochimaru.

Jiraiya wasted no time and completed a massive collaborative technique with the two toad sages. Pa used wind, Jiraiya spat oil and Ma provided the fire. The roaring burning oily explosion slammed into eight headed serpent. The eight heads roared with pain and one lashed down to strike at Jiraiya. The toad sage dodged aside at the last moment, the massive mouth bit into the earth ten feet down. More heads lashed out and Jiraiya was hard pressed to dodge them all even in Sage mode.

Despite the incredible mass of each of the heads and necks they moved with astonishing swiftness. Even more worrisome for Naruto was the tremendous burning damage that the Hokage had inflicted was actually being regenerated by the monstrous hydra. 'Kami what's it going to take to kill this thing?' Naruto did his part by throwing two of his special chakra kunai at the creature. They both slammed into the bulk of the beast and then exploded inside, however Orochimaru's form didn't even seem to feel it.

The Sword of Kusanagi flew towards one of the mouths who had opened up to reveal Orochimaru standing inside it. Orochimaru caught the blade and laughed, "Behold my ultimate jutsu, **Yamata no Jutsu** (Eight Branches Technique)." Naruto looked to Kakashi for orders but was unable to locate his sensei. Naruto knew Kakashi wouldn't have run, he was probably hiding in order to strike suddenly at Orochimaru. It did unnerve the young jinchuuriki; this was not a situation that had been planned for!

'Well when in doubt make clones,' Naruto thought to himself and hastily made 40 clones who were not as strong as normal due to having the same limited movement in their punctured leg as he did. Naruto glanced at Sasuke who was also trying to figure out how he could help. It wasn't often that the genin of team seven felt helpless but this was one of those times. Naruto hoped Jiraiya and Kakashi had a plan to deal with the now eight headed snake.

*****BREAK*****

Anko heard the sound of falling debris. She was just outside of the danger zone. The section of the underground portion of the village shook for a few moments but it finally stopped. A Naruto clone held up his hand and said, "Anko-san. Sakura-chan is chasing down Kabuto and could use your help, please follow me."

Anko shook her head, "Sorry gaki but I'm after Orochimaru." The clone grimaced, "Are you serious? My teammate is trying to hunt down Orochimaru's right hand man and you want to get in Kakashi-sensei and the Hokage's way?" Anko scowled at the clone. She needed to help against Orochimaru, not because the mission demanded it but for her own personal satisfaction.

"Sorry kid but nothing is standing in my way, Tenzo and Yugao will be here soon. Tell them." The clone was appalled at Anko's actions but couldn't do much as Anko raced past toward the sounds of the bases destruction. 'Selfish bitch,' the clone muttered.

*****BREAK*****

Sakura had several Naruto clones around her as well as the toad summon Gama. Gama was bruised badly from the earth spears that had smashed into his armor but still had chakra to keep going. They moved swiftly and were hot on Kabuto's heels. They were far enough into the base that they were outside of the massive destruction caused by Orochimaru's gigantic hydra form.

Sakura shivered. She didn't know what was going on in the battle with the three S class shinobi but she hoped Naruto and Sasuke-kun would be all right. For now she had to focus on catching up to Kabuto. The medical nin felt someone following him and cursed. He was really in no position to fight. But there was no way he was going to outrun his opponents with only one leg. He swallowed a soldier pill to replenish his chakra and stamina and prepared to ambush his pursuers.

The clones were in front and the first one saw the ninja wire at head height. Drawing a katana it cut the wire and set off the hidden explosive tags. The first two clones went pop, leaving six clones left. Sakura came after with two clones at her side and Kabuto tossed a barrage of kunai at them. The first clone used **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) to blow away the projectiles. Kabuto used shunshin with only one leg to get in close to slice at Sakura with a chakra blade.

Sakura dodged to the left and let the clones strike at Kabuto. Kabuto even with one leg was quite good at taijutsu. One clone popped bringing the total down to five. Gama grasped Kabuto's one good leg with his tongue and bashed him against the wall. The Kabuto clone turn into to smoke revealing it to only have been a Kage Bunshin.

The real Kabuto narrowed his eyes at the toad summon. He was a dangerous opponent, despite being of much smaller proportion to the great battle toads he had strength and speed equal to a jonin. Sakura sensed Kabuto in the shadows and immediately pointed him out to her allies. Kabuto saw a trio of Naruto clones racing forward. He balanced on one leg and waited for them to come at him. Katana cuts raced toward him, he ducked under one. Pivoting on one foot was hard but Kabuto made it look graceful as he dodged another. The last one he didn't bother dodging, instead he spat a senbon from his mouth at point blank range. The clone's katana went up in smoke just like the rest of it inches before the strike connected.

Kabuto used the chakra scalpel to finish off the next two clones leaving only two remaining. Sakura quickly used her strongest Genjutsu, **Magen: Jubaku Satsu** (Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death) on Kabuto. Her one legged opponent staggered as he felt the Genjutsu take hold. Pushing his hands together he said, "Kai," and broke the Genjutsu. Gama launched himself at Kabuto with an armored forearm intent on smashing his foe.

Kabuto flipped up onto the ceiling to avoid the attack and sent a kunai toward the toad who deflected it. Sakura launched her own kunai at Kabuto who casually knocked them aside and then dodged the toad's tongue. One clone stayed near Sakura and the other advanced cautiously. Kabuto pushed off from the ceiling and agilely dodged the katana, Gama and the thrown kunai. Pushing chakra into his foot he flashed forward and slashed Gama across the chest with the chakra scalpel. Blood pooled in the toad's right lung. He exploded in a puff of smoke back to his home. Sakura hoped he would be healed before he drowned in his own blood; both Naruto and Jiraiya liked Gama.

The Naruto clone jumped backward and said, "Sakura get out of here he's still too strong." Kabuto pushed on his glasses and smiled, "Yes run away little girl. This isn't a place for civilians." Sakura backed up a step. Kabuto was confident in his victory the only decision now was to play it safe and make good on his escape or kill this girl. Kabuto's eyes suddenly widened in horror as the real Sakura stabbed him in the back. He had only an instant to activate his cell regeneration jutsu but it did little good with the kunai still buried in his heart.

Kabuto instantly realized what had happened. The genin had layered her Genjutsu! There was a second Genjutsu overlapping the first illusion. Knowing what had happened was little comfort to Kabuto who also realized his time in the world was up. Sakura left the kunai buried in Kabuto's heart. It had been a close call, if she had not had perfect chakra control he could have sensed her chakra as she approached. She had used every ounce of stealth training her sensei had imparted to her. Knowing her opponent could regenerate Sakura finished the job by taking a second kunai and brutally cutting into Kabuto's neck.

Blood sprayed as she sawed through the artery, and then bone. Soon she had finished the brutal work of decapitation. Leaving nothing to chance she took out one of her scrolls and unsealed it allowing the oil to splash over Kabuto's corpse. Then she stepped back and used **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique). The corpse was incinerated quite thoroughly. Sakura was breathing heavily. Multiple Genjutsu and her Katon technique had left her very drained. She was worried about her teammates but knew she would be useless if she didn't take at least a brief breather.

*****BREAK*****

The Hokage saw that attacks to the bulk of the creature did not seem to be effective. He raced onto one of the tails of the creature, it tried to snap him loose but Jiraiya was too adept at chakra control to allow that to happen. One of the heads swiveled toward him and spat out acid. Jiraiya had to dodge off the snake to avoid it. One of the great tails slammed into the Hokage throwing him down to the ground. If it had not been for Senjutsu he probably would have broken several bones.

Instead he sprang up in an instant and created a humongous Rasengan that hit one of the descending head's in the face. The snake head gave a shriek of pain as its flesh was shredded; it reared back and away from the massive sphere. Seeing this happen Orochimaru extended his sword from up high; the blade was now over 80 feet long as it tried to skewer Jiraiya. He dodged to the left and then charged up the side of the beast again.

Anko Mitarashi arrived on the scene and looked upon Orochimaru's ultimate form with wide eyes. She saw Naruto and Sasuke wounded, dozens of Naruto clones milling around occasionally throwing an ignored kunai and the Hokage racing up the eight headed body at speeds she couldn't hope to match.

Anko had not come all this way to just stand around and gawk. Biting her thumb she said "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu" **(Summoning Technique) to bring in a relatively mindless giant snake. She couldn't risk bringing in any of the intelligent summons since they may not actually side with her against Orochimaru. The giant snake hissed and slithered toward the eight headed monstrosity and was nearly instantly devoured by one of the eight heads.

Anko was shocked at the speed of the striking heads. 'Something that huge shouldn't be able to move that fast!' Anko watched Jiraiya reach the top of the beast's neck. He was going for the Orochimaru inside one of the head's mouth.

"Kukuku, don't you realize this is me and I am it?" The head closed its mouth and Orochimaru reappeared inside another mouth. Jiraiya spun the other way, narrowly avoiding being bitten by two of the heads. "It's useless, this form is invincible!" The wounds that the hydra had suffered had already almost healed no sign of scorch marks and even the massive Rasengan's fury had failed to deal permanent damage.

Jiraiya sensed Kakashi the moment before Orochimaru did. That moment was all that Kakashi needed. His Raikiri was brought forth in an instant and was rammed straight through one of the eight heads. It pierced the snake head's brain with liquefying force and electrifying fury. Kakashi leapt down and away from the eight headed snake and then used Kawarimi to avoid globs of acid from raining down on him.

Jiraiya saw the wounded head hang limp. It wasn't regenerating from the wound. Orochimaru snarled in rage. It was Jiraiya's turn to laugh, "I guess it's not so invincible after all!" The entire massive bulk roiled and moved forcing Jiraiya to jump off and cling to the nearby wall. The hydra began spewing acid everywhere. Naruto and his clones used their wind jutsu to try to push the acid away. Sasuke dodged the acid and called out, "Sensei I'm useless here, I'm going to go find Sakura." Kakashi made the hand sign for agreement and called out to Naruto, "Bring out the battle toads."

Naruto hated calling on the Kyubi chakra but he had used a lot of his own chakra today between wind jutsu, clones and getting wounded. He reminded himself that this monster, this freak had killed his jiji. Red chakra started to gather around him and he quickly made the hand seals necessary for the summoning.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu" **(Summoning Technique)

One of Orochimaru's heads was already on its way to Naruto but was quickly intercepted by Gamaken's Sasumata. The weapon did not deal significant damage to the head but it did bat it aside. Gamaken guarded Naruto as he stepped away from the great toad and summoned Gamabunta. Naruto repeated the effort and summoned the last of the three great battle toads, Gamahiro.

Anko was annoyed that the little genin had done far more in the battle the she had! She had seen Kakashi kill one of the heads and decided to copy that approach herself. She sped across the broken ground and planted chakra on the soles of her shoes and began climbing up the monster. Anko saw three of the heads battling the three great toads. Almost immediately Gamahiro was knocked out of the fight as one of the massive hydra heads feinted with a bite and instead vomited acid that the dual wielding toad only partially avoided.

The acid burned horrible gaps into his arm, the sudden trauma required him to disperse back to Mount Myoboku. Anko saw Jiraiya near the top of one head only for another head to try to bite him off. With perfect control of his body, Jiraiya jumped atop the second head and drove a Rasengan into its skull. The head was wracked in pain and its sudden snap shoved Jiraiya away. Anko saw that even the Rasengan had not fully pierced the apparent bone skull of the hydra as the skin and scales started to regenerate before her eyes.

Orochimaru appeared in front of Anko on her trip up the neck; he had risen up from the skin and seemed to be still attached to it. "I don't have time to play with you Anko-chan," Orochimaru threatened and spewed out scores of snakes from his mouth. Anko responded with her own snake barrage from her sleeves. The two piles of snakes collided in mid air obscuring view for a moment. Orochimaru rose up again from underneath his former apprentice and attempted to drive a kunai into her back.

Anko turned at the last moment and took the kunai across the ribs instead. She pushed herself away from her former sensei and fell off of the great beast. Anko's life would have ended there as one of the heads chomped down in the middle of her flight path however Kakashi slammed into her changing her trajectory. They both landed painfully and Kakashi rolled up and quickly popped a soldier pill. While a soldier pill had diminishing returns the more powerful you were it still provided some chakra and stamina renewal on Kage level fighters.

Anko thanked Kakashi as she clutched her side. The blade had actually bit into her rib bone such was the force of the attack. Kakashi stood upright in front of the wounded Anko. Two kunai in his fists he took up a defensive position. One of Orochimaru's massive heads snapped down ready to kill both Anko and the 'foolish' Kakashi who was trying to defend her.

Anko screamed at Kakashi to move but Kakashi stood resolute in front of the descending maw. Anko saw a distortion around the path of the head and then abruptly the hydra head began to twist and turn and collapse in on itself. Nothing remained of the head except a bloody stump that now hung limp. The Orochimaru hissed in hatred of the Sharingan. Kakashi had used Kamui again. Anko saw Kakashi nearly collapse from chakra exhaustion.

Anko grabbed the jonin and did a shunshin away from the hydra. Naruto had seen what was going on and was worried about his sensei. In every fight they had ever been in Kakashi was a solid rock that could be relied on. After using Raikiri and his weird eye power multiple times it looked like he may be out of the fight. Gamabunta and Gamaken were heroically battling the hydra heads but could make little headway and were unable to strike a killing blow. They had seen the fate of their comrade and were quick to avoid the acidic spittle.

The Naruto clones had extreme difficulty getting anywhere with climbing the Hydra. The one bum leg made it very difficult to stay on the roiling beast's body. A few of the clones became frustrated and took out their anger by using **Futon: Shinkugyoku** (Wind Release Vacuum Bullets) at the normal sized Orochimaru whenever he popped up somewhere on the massive form.

However the attacks were ineffective and just served to exhaust the chakra in the clone forcing it to pop. Naruto wracked his brain for how else he could help the fight. While Naruto was thinking Jiraiya was continuing his assault on the beast. His Rasengan hadn't worked because he had been thrown off before it penetrated deep enough. This time he used his greatly enhanced Senjutsu provided strength to ram a kunai deep into one of the snake's heads. That did the trick and the third head had fallen.

Orochimaru nearly skewered Jiraiya whose arm was a good two feet inside the snake's cranium. A pivot of inches saved him from Orochimaru's extendable sword. Naruto saw this and thought, 'Hmm two feet to hit the brain, all I need to do is hit it with one of my remaining chakra kunai wrapped in explosive tags and I can take one down.' New plan formed Naruto studied the attacks that were being made on his two summons. He lined up his shot and then launched chakra kunai with perfect aim.

The kunai slammed into its targeted and then Naruto detonated the tags. Naruto made a very unlike shinobi fist pump in the air in excitement. The exhausted Kakashi sometimes wished his Sharingan wasn't quite so observant. He had seen the successful attack and had been filled with pride for his student. And then he saw the fist bump of excitement in the middle of a Kage level battle and had to sigh.

Orochimaru was now deeply concerned. Half of his ultimate form was defeated and Jiraiya was still going strong. The two battle toads were tiring but he couldn't ignore them either. To make it even worse more reinforcements arrived. Two ANBU members who had chased after Anko finally arrived on the scene. Orochimaru immediately knew the identity of one of the ANBU as he used **Mokuton** (Wood Release) to try to imprison his massive form. It was a laughable failure, his form could not be restrained but it did slow him a fraction and that was dangerous against the Godaime. The other ANBU circled outside of the immediate fight looking for an opening.

Orochimaru changed tactics and began to fire elemental jutsu at the toads and Naruto. Jiraiya was simply too hard to hit with them but if he could get rid of the distractions he could then focus on the biggest threat on the field. Bullets of flame, blasts of wind, disrupting earth jutsus flayed at Naruto, his summons and the ANBU. Naruto barely survived by hiding behind Gamaken was also forced to dissipate. The focus however allowed Jiraiya to finish off another branch of Orochimaru's body.

The Hokage shouted out, "Only three left Orochimaru and its over." Orochimaru screamed in inarticulate rage. His calculating mind going over the battle field searching for some hidden advantage he could exploit and finding nothing. Jiraiya used **Doton: Yomi Numa** (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld) in conjunction Tenzo to further trap Orochimaru in place.

Orochimaru frantically fought against Jiraiya with the Sword of Kusanagi, shielding the great hydra heads as best he could. He was forced to extend the blade to deflect Naruto's final chakra infused kunai from piercing another skull. The infuriating jinchuuriki simply would not die. Gamabunta roared and finally managed to get his blade into the mouth of his foe. Using his massive strength he jammed it up through the snake and into its brain.

Kakashi saw the battle nearing its end and knew this would be when Orochimaru could be at his most dangerous. A wounded animal was never as vicious as when it was backed into a corner. It was time to end this before Orochimaru pulled out another hidden jutsu. Kakashi rapidly opened the Gate of Opening and the Gate of Healing, the only two gates he could open. The effect increased Kakashi's strength but more importantly the second gate briefly replenished his chakra. Kakashi created a shadow clone as subtly as possible and had it pretend to be exhausted while the real Kakashi used all of his skill at stealth to slowly get closer to his enemy.

Anko's eyes were shining with joy. This was it; her hated betrayer was going to die! She saw the Hokage charge in over and over again against the last two heads. One was busy dealing with Gamabunta while the second was under constant assault from Jiraiya. It was easy for Kakashi to strike the one attacking Gamabunta with another Raikiri, leaving just one left. Kakashi leapt from the dying hydra head to the last and raced toward Orochimaru. He dodged a sweep of Orochimaru's blade and stabbed out with his kunai. The snake Sanin blocked but he had allowed Jiraiya to finish off the last head. Orochimaru's scream made everyone's ears ring as the massive hydra collapsed to the floor of the ruined base.

The real Orochimaru was utterly drained of chakra and could do nothing more than try to crawl away. It was a pitiful and pathetic sight. Anko was giddy with joy and moved forward to be the one to deal the finishing blow. The Kakashi clone stopped her, "Don't take foolish chances, I'll do it." The Kakashi clone moved forward and without any fanfare stabbed Orochimaru in the back of the head. Orochimaru lay still. Kakashi's Sharingan eye swept the area for any signs of his chakra. His eyes spotted a small white snake vainly trying to slither away. Kakashi was on it in a heartbeat and burned it with a low level fire jutsu.

The Hokage used his Senjutsu senses to see if any last lingering presence remained. Sensing none he took a deep breath. "It's over. Orochimaru is dead."

**AN: **Wow that was a beast to write. I hope you guys appreciate my longest chapter to date! Please review – I'd love to see my story hit over 200 reviews!


	24. Chapter 23: Interlude

**AN: **Thank you for the reviews – broke the 200 mark!

**Chapter 23:** Interlude

The details of the attack on Otogakure were kept quiet but it was announced that the new hidden village had been destroyed. The purpose was to give the village something to celebrate and to send a message to the other great hidden villages that Konohagakure was still strong. The Inuzuka clan of course was not in a celebratory mood. Their clan head had been killed in the mission to take down Orochimaru. While they took pride in the fact she died on such an important mission it was still devastating.

Her two children were taking it the hardest. The fact that the village was essentially having a festival while they were in mourning infuriated Kiba. Jiraiya had seen the anger in the young genin's eyes and decided to give him some time off of missions to collect himself.

That evening as the rest of the village was celebrating Jiraiya met with Shikaku and Kakashi. Jiraiya asked Shikaku, "Anything important happen while I was gone?" Shikaku shook his head, "Nothing really. There is still no sign of Iwa or Kumo aggression; it looks like we've managed to avoid war." Everyone in the room thought this was a good thing.

The Hokage drummed his fingers on the table and said, "All right in that case we can enjoy some peace and quiet for a bit. Our mission was a success and I think it's past time we promoted your squad chunin Kakashi." Kakashi disagreed, "I don't see the point. Keep them as genin until we need to send a message to the other villages via the chunin exams." Jiraiya frowned, "Rumors have spread already of what they did during the invasion. It would be hard to sell that they were anything but ringers."

Kakashi dismissed that concern, "And Gaara had killed jonin level assassins while still being a genin. Rumors are rumors, raw speculation will always exist but it won't prevent my team from competing." Jiraiya considered the idea and finally shrugged, "I don't think I want to send the type of message you probably want to Kakashi however you are their jonin commander so I'll hold off on any promotions for now."

"Thank you Hokage-Sama, I'd also request for my team's participation to be downplayed in Otogakure." Again Jiraiya allowed Kakashi autonomy over his team and agreed. Shikaku eyed the elite jonin and said, "You are aware that Naruto is in Iwa's bingo books?" Kakashi favored the Nara with an eye smile and simply said, "Oh we are aware and the bingo book underrates him so it's not a big deal."

Kakashi then turned back to the Godaime, "Speaking about the mission I wanted to go over the favorable notations for those who did well and the punishments for those who failed to conduct themselves properly." Kakashi had technically been the mission leaders since Jiraiya was incognito at the time.

"All right, go on."

"I'll start with the positive. After reviewing all of the after action reports I'd like to highlight Shizune and Shibi." Kakashi started with Shizune, "She was most responsible for bringing down Kimimaro who had an incredibly lethal kekkei genkai. Her **Dokugiri** (Poison Mist) was probably what triggered a preexisting illness and ultimately led to his death. After the battle her immediate and skilled use of medical jutsu saved Genma's life."

Kakashi moved on to Shibi, "Shibi Aburame was excellent in his role as squad leader and I agreed with all of his tactical decisions. Tsume's death was a tragedy and I suspect Shibi partially blames himself for it. A positive commendation from you will go a long way to ease any misplaced guilt he may have."

Shikaku agreed with Kakashi's assessment, "From the reports I've reviewed I agree Hokage-Sama." Jiraiya glanced at his two advisors, "I know you probably have concerns about Anko but frankly I'd be happier giving everyone commendations for succeeding on such a difficult mission." Kakashi shook his head, "That would degenerate the performance of those who truly served above our expectations. Simply because the mission succeeded doesn't mean everyone nailed their parts."

Jiraiya sighed, "Fine fine, you've obviously given it more thought then I have. I'll make sure both Shibi and Shizune have a positive report in their files for this mission. And for the reprimands?"

"Only Anko Mitarashi. During the battle she ignored the commands of her squad leader and then ignored sound tactical advice from Naruto in favor of petty vengeance. If Sakura, a genin out of the academy for less than a year, had been a shade less skillful she would have likely died to Kabuto."

Kakashi paused letting his words sink in and then continued, "Considering the nature of the mission where the Hokage's life was in danger in some villages she could be executed for treason." Jiraiya was about to speak up but Kakashi held up a placating hand, "I'm not suggesting that. But I am suggesting she be dropped down to chunin. I'm also suggesting that she not be allowed to do any missions above D rank for the next 6 months."

Jiraiya blinked, "That's a bit harsh Kakashi. Tenzo's orders were to slow down; it made very little difference in the end. And as tactically sound as Naruto's suggestion was he's still a genin and she a tokubestu jonin. She wasn't required to obey his suggestions."

Shikaku added, "Plus this seems to be a onetime event, Anko-san had a personal vendetta against Orochimaru and to my knowledge that is the only individual that would make her act this way."

Kakashi looked at the two and shrugged, "I'm not the Hokage so it's not my decision but I stand by my recommendation." Jiraiya glanced at Anko's file for a few moments. "She will retain her rank however she will be required to do D rank missions for the next month and not be allowed to lead team missions for the next year." The punishment was light in Kakashi's eyes. He would also have words with Anko himself later.

They moved on to the next topic of discussion, namely the defense of the village so additional attacks would not occur in the future. Much of the conversation had to do with increasing patrols, adding new detection seals as well as ensuring a smooth transition with Jiraiya's intelligence network.

Kakashi had a different idea on how to best protect the village. "All this I well and good however the biggest issue is the lack of progress and training of our shinobi." Shikaku asked for clarification, "We have a robust academy program as well as only allowing handpicked jonin to mentor fresh genin. What is missing?"

"I have concerns about the academy as well as genin training however that isn't what I was referring to. Our chunin and jonin often get lazy or side tracked. I'll give you some examples. Asuma Sarutobi, when was the last time he picked up a new jutsu? When was the last time he devoted a full day to training himself? The man is gifted but has reached a plateau and is unwilling to work to improve his skills."

Jiraiya replied, "Sarutobi is one of the leaf's strongest jonin, I'd rank him within the top ten." Kakashi agreed smoothly, "Yes and imagine how much stronger he could be if he actually pushed himself! Or consider the chunin Iruka Umino. While his academy performance was poor he grew into a skilled genin and an accomplished chunin. Now he spends all day at the academy, spending extra time grading tests and developing lesson plans. How much training does he do to improve himself? He should be striving for jonin not devoting all of his energy to teaching children, most of whom will never even become a genin!"

Shikaku saw where Kakashi was going and muttered, "Troublesome." The Hokage asked, "So what do you propose?"

"Mandatory training is what I propose. Make it a condition of their continued existence as a Konoha shinobi. This would apply to all shinobi, those who teach in the academy, our torture and interrogation unit, ANBU, jonin sensei, chunin patrols, medical nin and even those shinobi who work in an administrative capacity."

Jiraiya looked a bit uneasy at the idea. "That seems invasive. If they can continue performing their duties adequately why should they be forced to go through rigorous training?" Kakashi was calm but allowed heat to enter his voice, "Because their primary purpose is the protection of this village! If we are attacked it is expected that every shinobi take up arms. Improve the quality of our shinobi will be the biggest deterrent to attack."

Shikaku sighed, "Shinobi who have given their all in battle and missions sometimes wish to settle down and take care of other things. I would be rather upset if the little free time I get to play Shogi with my son was interrupted by mandatory training." Kakashi considered his response and then replied, "So you are fine when the next attack that comes leaves your family dead because you weren't strong enough to protect them?"

Shikaku narrowed his eyes, "That was uncalled for Kakashi-san. I respect your abilities but you have no right to imply that skipping out on additional training will lead to my family's deaths."

"It might, obviously no one can say for sure. Being stronger will increase the probability that your family will live through another attack. Let's not kid ourselves here, war will come. Not a single generation has passed without conflict since the founding of the hidden villages. All of us should prepare in meaningful ways for the next war."

Shikaku moved to say more but Jiraiya spoke up instead, "I see both sides but I refuse to dictate what shinobi do in their off time. However I do see the benefit of enhanced training. I will encourage our shinobi forces to put an emphasis on training."

He wasn't pleased with the decision at all. Kakashi had trained his body hard, and so had Gai. If they hadn't, who knows the damage that Suna's jinchuuriki could have done. He did not see the same drive that Gai and he had in the general shinobi population. While his initial proposal had been rebuffed Kakashi would just approach the problem from a different angle. Nothing productive would come from pressing the issue now so Kakashi would bide his time.

The Hokage asked, "Any other pressing business? I do have research to do you know."

"One final thing," Kakashi said. "I want to tell Naruto about his parents."

Jiraiya took in a sharp breath and replied, "Well then, I guess my research will have to wait. We have a lot to discuss."

*****BREAK*****

After the victory celebration over Otogakure was over Kakashi met up with his team. As was typical they dispatched Naruto clones as slave labor to complete needed D rank missions for the village. Then it was time for physical training. After a nice two hours of intense workout Kakashi gathered his team together to discuss the next phase of their training.

"We will begin to do B and A ranked missions however it will be crucial for you to continue to train when you are in the village." All three of the genin replied in unison, "Hai Kakashi-sensei!" Kakashi smiled under his mask, his team truly was wonderful. It was hard to imagine that his team could come so far after their initial encounter.

"You already have your areas of specialty and that won't change much for now. I also want you to influence the rest of the rookies. All three of you are now respected after the invasion by Suna and Oto, and while your contribution in Otogakure will not be noted now it in no way lessens the respect your peers have for you." Kakashi caught the eye of each of his students before continuing, "Use that respect to help them. Encourage them to train just as hard as you do."

The three genin nodded. The world was a dangerous place and the last thing they wanted to see happen was their friends get hurt. "Beyond just your peers, influence others. Naruto, I want you to spar with Iruka. Beat him and encourage him to step up his own training." Naruto liked his personal mission, it would be nice to visit with Iruka and if he could push him to the next level it felt like repayment for how Iruka had helped him.

"Sasuke, you have fan girls. Instead of running from them, let them know you will only be willing to propagate the Uchiha line with a strong kunoichi." Sasuke grimaced; he was going to hate this. Sakura didn't look too happy either. "Maa Maa, I'm not asking you to bed them, I'm asking you to help secure our village."

"Hnn," was Sasuke's only response. Kakashi knew the boy would do it but it was asking too much for him to be happy about it.

Naruto couldn't help but laugh at his friend's plight and earned the ire of both Sakura and Sasuke. That just made it even more hilarious to him. Kakashi put up his hands, "All right enough, time for some more training. We'll be breaking early so you can go do your special assignments." The genin eagerly began working on their training. Kakashi made a couple of shadow clones to help watch Sakura and Sasuke and then indicated that Naruto should follow him.

After they were far enough away Kakashi used his Sharingan to scan for any listeners. He then placed a privacy seal around them. Naruto knew something was up and his cheerful face turned serious. "What is it Kakashi-sensei?"

"Do you want to know who your parents are?"

Naruto blinked in surprise, "What? Of course I do!"

The elite jonin began, "To start I need to explain why you weren't told earlier…"

*****BREAK*****

Naruto wasn't quite sure what to think. Learning that you were the son of the shinobi you had always idolized was a lot to take in. Added to the mix of emotions that brought was the fact that his own father had placed the damned fox inside of him. Naruto understood why he had done it; from a logical perspective it made sense. But even if it made sense, it also hurt. If he ever had kids he would not pass this curse on to them.

It also upset him that he wasn't told sooner. When he was growing up he would have given anything to know something about his parents. It would have made the lonely days and nights more tolerable if he had some connection to his family. 'I know you had your reasons jiji. I just wish you would have trusted me with a little bit of knowledge.' Naruto was lost in thought as he approached the Academy.

Naruto didn't blame Kakashi, he was told to keep it a secret and Kakashi obeyed orders. In fact Naruto had a lot of respect for his sensei for being the one to step up and demand that he be told. Naruto was grateful for having Kakashi as his sensei. He was sure no other jonin could have done as much as he had for him.

Kakashi had also told him it was up to him who he shared that knowledge with. While he had been cautioned to be careful since it would draw out Minato's enemies he was given the choice what to do with it. Naruto had decided he would tell his teammates. For Naruto that almost went without saying. He trusted them with his life already and he didn't like keeping secrets from them. Naruto approached the Academy and located Iruka as he was packing up to leave.

"Iruka-sensei how are you?"

Iruka looked up and smiled at his onetime pupil. Naruto had grown tremendously since he had left the academy. It had been less than a year and already he had learned his elemental affinity and summoning jutsu!

"I'm doing good Naruto. Glad to see you still have time for your old sensei. Want to grab some ramen?"

Naruto grinned, "Sure but I also wanted to do a little sparring with you."

Iruka laughed, "Uh oh, you aren't looking for payback for all the messes I made you clean up?"

Naruto shook his head, "I wouldn't do that! No I really want to see how we match up. I'm not a chunin yet but a lot of people say I'm already as strong as one." Iruka thought about it for a minute and said, "Sure however don't summon any toads I really don't want to be flattened by Gamabunta-Sama!"

The two went to the nearest training ground and Naruto got into a ready stance. Iruka started it off by throwing blunt kunai at Naruto who blasted them aside with **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm). Iruka was a bit surprised by Naruto's speed and skill with the jutsu. While he had heard stories about his battle with the Suna and Oto nin it was a bit different to see those battle honed reflexes in action.

Iruka created academy Bunshin and charged. Naruto could tell which was the real one by the indents in the ground and caught Iruka's leg when he attempted to kick out. Naruto lifted up swiftly causing Iruka to flip upside down in mid air. Iruka sensing the danger immediately used Kawarimi with a nearby log. Training grounds typically had them scattered about and this one was no different.

Naruto's fist collided with the log and sent it careening away. Iruka was impressed with his student, "All right I've made the first two moves, now it's your turn." Naruto had his weight seals on but even so when he charged Iruka could barely keep up. He dodged the first blow and attempted to block the kick only for his arm to be bruised rather painfully as he was knocked to the ground. Iruka rolled and threw another blunt kunai at Naruto who easily snatched it out of the air and tossed it back at his former sensei without stopping his forward momentum. Iruka barely had time to deflect his own kunai before Naruto was on him.

Naruto had his own chakra kunai out and resting lightly on Iruka's neck. Iruka froze. Naruto sheathed his kunai. "Well that was fun, ready for some ramen?" Iruka was disturbed by how easy Naruto had won the bout. He didn't consider himself a weak chunin, while not top tier and ready for promotion for jonin he thought he could handle himself even again a talented rookie. Or at least put up more of a fight!

Iruka had half expected Naruto to gloat but to his credit the blond did not. Instead they walked to Ramen Ichiraku mostly in silence. Shortly before they got there Naruto said, "Iruka-sensei you were a great teacher but I have to ask why you don't train more." Iruka looked at the shorter shinobi and replied, "I guess it's because I don't need to be a jonin in order to teach. It's my goal to continue teaching in the academy. I really do enjoy it. This isn't a temporary job for me this is what I want to do."

"I think you should keep doing it but I also think you should get stronger. Kakashi-sensei says it's only a matter of time before Konoha get's attacked again."

Iruka was startled, "What? But we are at peace. Did Kakashi share classified information with you? Because if so you shouldn't be sharing it with me without clearance."

Naruto waved off the concern, "Nothing classified and nothing immediate. It's just a matter of history really. There have been three shinobi wars in the last 60 or so years. What's that one war every twenty years?" Iruka shivered, war was a horrible thing and even the time between wars was full of danger and conflict. No one was calling the Suna/Sound invasion to be part of a shinobi world war but if things had gone differently Konoha could have been destroyed.

"I guess you and Kakashi have been thinking about that a lot. I'm touched that you're worried about me Naruto and you're right I probably could train some more."

Naruto grinned at his former sensei, "Yeah, that's awesome! We are going to be jonin together before you know it, believe it!" Iruka smiled, it was nice to know that Kakashi hadn't completely eliminated all of Naruto's verbal quirks. The two proceeded to enjoy their ramen and talk about their training plans.

*****BREAK*****

When Tsunade finally met up with Jiraiya she had worked herself into a righteous fury. His ANBU guards fingered their weapons nervously before Jiraiya dismissed them. "Don't worry she's my old teammate she isn't going to try to kill me."

"JIRAIYA I AM GOING TO KILL YOU," shouted the enraged slug princess.

Jiraiya laughed nervously, "Trust me guys I'll be fine." The ANBU took one last look at their Hokage and decided that if he was going to order them away from Tsunade's fists they were going to take that opportunity to skedaddle.

Tsunade stopped in front of Jiraiya and raised her fist and threatened him, "You have two seconds to tell me why you took Shizune on an S ranked mission against Orochimaru! She could have been killed!" Jiraiya lifted his hands in a placating gesture, "Shizune is a highly skilled medic and saved one of her teammates. She was able to handle herself just fine."

"What the hell is the matter with you? If you had told me you wanted to take Shizune I would have gone in her place in a heartbeat."

"I know, that's why I didn't tell you. You still have your fear of blood. I couldn't risk taking you."

Tsunade glared, "I've been working at the hospital for quite some time now. I got over it."

"You got over seeing blood in a hospital. Who knows what would have happened if you saw it in a combat situation? It wasn't something I could risk."

Tsunade raised her fist and Jiraiya spoke sternly in the voice of the Godaime Hokage, "Enough. Tsunade you are a shinobi of Konoha and you will not disrespect the position of Hokage by attempting to harm my person. Is that understood?"

Tsunade lowered her first, shock and surprise was written all over her face.

"Next time I need a medical shinobi I will only look to you if you've proven on the field that you will no longer freeze at the sight of blood. Feel free to take any mission that is available."

Tsunade looked at her former teammate, "You've changed Jiraiya. And it's for the better, I'm glad you are taking the position of Hokage seriously." Tsunade looked embarrassed for a few moments and then said, "All right send me on a mission but give me a team so that if I do freeze up I won't endanger the mission."

Jiraiya agreed and then Tsunade left to go see what missions were available. Jiraiya took a deep breath and let it out. He thought to himself, 'Wow I can't believe that worked. I guess I owe Kakashi a preview of the next book now.'

*****BREAK*****

Naruto was finishing up his Genjutsu detection training with Sakura when Hinata approached. Naruto saw Hinata's downcast features and immediately asked, "Hinata what's wrong?" Hinata looked at Naruto and explained, "Kiba is so angry these days. He got into a fight with Shino when he accused Shino's dad for getting his mother killed. I tried to reason with him but he then lashed out at me. I don't know what to do, it seems like my team is falling apart."

Naruto and Sakura felt bad for her and Naruto responded, "That has to be rough. I know Kiba is going through a lot but he shouldn't be taking out on his team. Maybe Kurenai should dissolve the team for a couple of months and let Kiba work out his issues." Hinata shook her head, "I don't know. That would feel like we are abandoning him."

Sakura sympathized as well, "Hinata there isn't necessarily a right answer. But if he is injuring his teammates something has to change." Hinata nodded, "I'll ask Kurenai-sensei about it." Naruto stretched his sore muscles and said, "Hey why don't we all go get some Ramen? Hinata you could use some time away from your team and just enjoy yourself."

Hinata forced herself not to blush. She wouldn't forget Kakashi-sensei's training. "All right that sounds like a good idea." Sakura had a sly thought cross her mind, she almost decided to bail on the two of them and turn it into just a two of them thing. But she immediately felt guilty about it. Hinata probably wasn't in the best state of mind right now and it would be very unfair to her teammate to put him in a situation where it would be difficult to let someone down easy.

Instead the three of them went and got ramen and talked about other things then Kiba and the troubles of team eight. Naruto had voraciously devoured the books that could be found in the village and talked about a few of them that Hinata might like as another way of distracting her. Hinata was surprised to learn that Naruto was such a prolific reader until it was explained to her that he did it all with Kage Bunshin.

After a nice meal and good company Hinata's spirits had lifted considerably. She thanked them both and returned to the Hyuga compound. Naruto and Sakura were glad they had been able to spend some time with Hinata but now they were a bit behind on their training schedule and the next day would be an early start. They raced back to the training grounds to continue their training regime, refusing to allow their interlude to interfere with their efforts to get stronger.

**AN:** Not a whole lot of action just some groundwork being laid for future events. I haven't decided how much time I'll spend between now and when the Akatsuki becomes active.


	25. Chapter 24: Preparation

**AN: **Thank you for all of the reviews!

**Chapter 24: **Preparation

Konoha was preparing for another chunin exam. It wasn't in the village of course since they had hosted the last one, this time it was in Suna. Jiraiya had made overtures to the new Kazekage, Baki. The new Kazekage was more than happy to have Konoha on good terms. Over the objections of his advisors he would allow Konoha to participate. Many of his advisors felt strongly that Konoha would retaliate and attack their home just as Suna had attacked theirs.

Temari had been invited to the discussion with the council. It was clear to all that she was being groomed for the post despite some objections to the more traditional element in Sunagakure. Temari had recalled with pride how forceful her one time sensei was, "I am the Godaime Kazekage and you will stop your bickering! Jiraiya of the Sannin believes in peace. If Danzo had been selected I would never have allowed them to participate but we can trust Jiraiya."

Temari had also chimed in and said, "If Konoha had wanted vengeance they would have pursued us, instead they let us go." An old advisor spoke, "But they took so few prisoners during the battle, surely if they were forgiving they wouldn't have been so ruthless to the shinobi trapped within their walls." Baki slammed his fist on the table, "In the middle of battle after their home had been attacked they were rightfully furious! We have no right to blame them. Since the invasion Konoha had been nothing but amicable. I received a letter from their Hokage personally stating that Orochimaru was treacherous and had fooled many in Konoha itself before fleeing the village."

"All to better put our guard down," another advisor echoed the first's sentiment.

The Kazekage countered, "No one will put their guard down. But if we spit in the face of their overtures we can forget about our alliance. If that happens any of the other great villages could crush us if they wanted to. Our manpower is severely depleted, we need this alliance or Iwa or Kumo could annihilate us." The advisors went to argue more but Baki was done. "Enough! I have spoken, prepare precautions as you like but no one will take any hostile actions against our guests."

Temari had smiled at the memory. She was proud of her sensei; he had taken several steps to ensure Suna's future. It had taken her some time to get over her brother's death but she was now finally moving past it. She and Kankuro had patched things up as well. As long as neither mentioned Gaara they were fine with each other's presence. After all they were still on the same genin team. 'This time it should be easy to make chunin even if our replacement is a bit weak.'

Temari had mixed feelings about her sensei wanting her to be the next Kazekage. Ultimately what decided it for her was that as Rokudaime Kazekage she could ensure no one else in her village would have to suffer the fate of Gaara. She would not allow another jinchuuriki to be made. If that weakened the village, so be it. She would find another way to make Sunagakure strong again.

*****BREAK*****

It was time to make chunin nominations in Konoha. Gai's team was nominated again and Asuma and Kurenai also nominated their teams. They were joined by several other Leaf teams but not Kakashi's team seven. Sakura didn't care it was pretty much an open secret that team seven could mop the floor with any chunin team.

While other teams prepared for the chunin exams Sakura was hard at work looking for practical ways to use fuinjutsu in combat. She had taken the idea of holding weaponry within storage scrolls from Tenten. However that was just the start. Because fuinjutsu could manipulate the sealed area it opened up tremendous possibilities. Most used that manipulation to place something in stasis. Early shinobi had used fuinjutsu to keep things cold as a means of storage prior to the advent of the current stasis storage that was used.

That had given Sakura the idea. The environment within the storage seal could be manipulated with the proper seal sequence. With that in mind she had designed a seal matrix for air pressure. It had been difficult to get the right balance but finally he had something that she could use in combat.

She would use it to store weaponry with the air pressure pushing in the outward direction over time. After an hour the maximum force would be stored and when she released the seal it would push out the projectiles out at extreme velocity. The kunai, senbon or shuriken would be blasted out at speeds far faster than most shinobi could throw. In fact the speed would rival Naruto's **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) pushed weaponry.

However that wasn't the only trick she could use her pressure seal for. Because she could control the temperature with a slightly different formula she could just store air and pressure and effectively make a steam like blast of air that was powerful enough to melt metal. The range was incredibly short but it would pack a very nasty surprise.

Sakura had shown her new designs to Kakashi who had been impressed with the ingenuity. "Well done Sakura these two designs are excellent. In combat it can be difficult to use scrolls but with Naruto providing a screen of clones I see promise with this. You can even use other substances like poisonous gas or high level explosive seals."

Sakura glowed with pride at the compliment. "Thank you Kakashi-sensei but this is just the beginning!" Kakashi gave his subordinate an eye smile and let her continue her experimentation with a final warning to be careful with anything explosive. Sakura had heeded all of Kakashi and Jiraiya's warnings and was extremely cautious when creating something new.

"I also found a great way to test dangerous seals too. I can just borrow Naruto clones to test them from a distance." Kakashi immediately saw the advantage and then his sharp intellect considered other implications. "Hmm Sakura that gives me an idea, you can give pre-made explosive storage scrolls to Naruto clones and have them deliver the damage." Sakura's expression brightened, 'Oh that could really work. I could develop multidirectional storage seals and essentially use them like a smoke bomb delivered by a shunshin clone! Only I can seal things like acid, explosives, shrapnel the possibilities are endless!'

Kakashi saw the glint in Sakura's eyes and knew he may have just created a monster…

*****BREAK*****

Sasuke was pleased with the improvements he had made to his Chidori. He was able to use it at range effectively. He called the attack Chidori Senbon. Smalls slivers of lightning charged death would rain on his foes. Unlike a normal senbon these had incredible piercing power. The other Chidori technique he had picked up was the ability to elongate the tightly massed lighting chakra and turn it into a short range spear that was connected to him.

The benefit of the connection is that it allowed him to swing horizontally to cut with the technique. Unlike a normal spear the Chidori Spear could pierce from any direction. An enemy could dodge the first thrust and then be sliced in two as Sasuke moved his arm. The piercing power was weakened a bit compared to a normal Chidori but it was still powerful enough to mow down flesh and bone. Sasuke had just tested it on a tree and had felled it with one slash.

Sasuke grinned; it felt good to modify his own jutsu as opposed to just copying someone else's. Joint practice with his team would start soon and he was looking forward to showing off his modified Chidori to everyone. 'I wonder what I should work on next. I'll need to keep working on my taijutsu for sure that will be never ending but what else can I do to become stronger?'

Sasuke considered learning another element. While it was nearly unheard of for someone to use a third elemental chakra nature since the exponential learning curve made it almost impossible he felt could probably do it. The Sharingan would allow him to mimic the flow of chakra perfectly it was just a matter of forcing the chakra to conform to his will.

He had seen Kakashi used more than two elemental chakra types so he knew it was possible. Doton, Suiton or Futon were his options. Naruto had Futon more then covered with his ability to make shadow clones with enough chakra for at least one jutsu. That left water or earth. Earth had some fantastic movement and defensive abilities. However water could work nicely with his Raiton mastery.

Sasuke would hold off for now and see what his teammates had come up with since their last mission abroad. Sasuke enjoyed the cadence that Kakashi had created. They would go out on a B or A ranked mission and return and have a week of intense training then it was time to go back out again. It allowed them an opportunity to incorporate added jutsu and abilities in live combat.

'Hnn now if we can only go on a mission that would actually challenge us,' Sasuke thought to himself. Team seven hadn't even suffered a scratch on their last mission and it had started to bore Sasuke. Nothing short of a dozen jonin level threats or an S ranked shinobi could even make his team break a sweat.

'Itachi it won't be long now before you pay for what you did to me.'

*****BREAK*****

For Naruto's training he had begun to bother Jiraiya to learn how to use Senjutsu. Jiraiya looked at the hopeful blond and replied, "Can't do it."

"But why?"

"I haven't even perfected the technique what makes you think I can teach someone else?"

"That wasn't the perfected technique? Kami! Just imagine how powerful you could be if you perfected it."

Jiraiya chuckled, "Well my power wouldn't really increase it would just be more flexible. In any case there is something else I want you to learn."

Naruto sighed, "I hate using the kyubi's chakra. It makes me feel dirty and I have to work at controlling my anger when I use it."

"I know it's hard but your father designed the seal to allow the chakra to flow into you, he did this for a reason."

"And my father also wanted me to be viewed as a hero of the village for being the prison of the kyubi. Just because he was the Hokage and an awesome shinobi doesn't mean he knew everything."

The Hokage saw the problem as well as the potential solution. "All right brat I'll make you a deal. When you access the kyubi's chakra it becomes red and visible to the naked eye. As you take on more chakra it actually forms a tail. The more chakra you filter in the more tails spring up and the greater your power. If you can fully control three chakra tails I'll try to convince Fukasaku to teach you Senjutsu."

Naruto squirmed as he thought about it. He hated pulling in the blasted fox's essence when he used it to pump up his chakra for **Kuchiyose no Jutsu** (Summoning Technique). To actually hold onto the chakra and fight with it would be sickening.

"I'll think about it pervy sage."

"I told you to stop calling me that!"

"Hey when you stop being a pervert I'll stop calling you that!"

Jiraiya considered giving Naruto a directive as the Godaime Hokage however he knew his sensei had allowed Naruto to call him "old man" and "jiji." He decided to let the boy keep the nickname for him. While he grumbled about the nickname he did like the fact he was on a nickname basis with his Godson.

"All right – now I want you to remember when you train with the kyubi chakra to have Kakashi or myself around."

Naruto nodded, "I haven't said yes yet but if I do I'll keep that in mind. I don't have any desire to hurt anyone and prove the villagers right about me."

Jiraiya frowned, he had learned just how awful the village had treated Naruto. "Are the villagers still giving you a hard time?"

Naruto laughed, "Nah, they never know when they are actually talking to me. I use a Henge and only shinobi would know the difference. After the invasion none of the shinobi bother me either so I'm fine."

Naruto wasn't sure if it was out of respect for helping save the village or if it was fear of a giant battle toad destroying them.

Jiraiya disliked that his Godson had to hide his appearance just to avoid confrontations with his own village. 'In time they will respect him. I have to believe that.'

Naruto gave him a wave and Jiraiya returned to the business of running Konoha.

*****BREAK*****

The night before the chunin delegation to Sunagakure was to leave Kurenai invited team seven to eat with her team. Kakashi had been instrumental in improving the abilities of each of her genin. In particular Hinata was blossoming. Kakashi had graciously agreed to help see the team off. It was good to see his part time students again and he suspected that Kiba needed a swift kick in the pants. Kakashi had debated on who should deliver it but ultimately decided on Sasuke who had a similar event occur to him only on a much larger scale.

Kakashi briefed Sasuke on the theme of what he wanted him to say. Sasuke shrugged, it annoyed him to talk about his clan being massacred but he had long since mastered Kakashi's lessons on control. Regardless of the inner turmoil only a pathetic shinobi would allow that to be displayed on the outside unless he desired it to. And there were plenty of times it was appropriate to have an outward display of emotion. To lower ones guard among trusted teammates, to inspire a particular emotion in those around you, to invoke fear in an enemy or to bluff an opponent into thinking you're out of control. This was just another scenario where it would be appropriate to let the anger of what Itachi had done to him out.

They met at an upscale restaurant. Naruto was not in a Henge on this occasion. Kakashi has ensured the restaurant staff knew that if the service was lacking due to the 'demon brat' he would show them why he was an S class nin in every village's bingo books. Kakashi idly thought the killing intent he had used to bring home his message was a bit excessive when the owner had wet himself but it certainly had amused him.

As the two teams greeted each other it was obvious that Kiba and Shino still had issues to work out. Naruto was his usual boisterous self and wished all three of them luck on the exams. "Not that you'll need it! Next time I see you three you'll all be wearing chunin vests." Hinata smiled. It was getting easier to master her body and not blush or stutter. Her heart rate still increased when he was around but only the most skilled observer could detect that.

Shino politely thanked him while Kiba just grunted. The meal began and the group engaged in small talk with Kiba being the only one not to participate. Even the Aburame had a few words but Kiba only sullenly picked at his food. Kakashi signaled Sasuke and the last Uchiha narrowed his eyes.

"Naruto is wrong. You'll need luck to become chunin. Kiba is deadweight and will drag you down."

Kiba's head snapped up. Akamaru growled sensing his partner's anger.

Sasuke was looking right at Kiba, "Hnn yeah Kurenai-san ought to be ashamed of herself for even entering you."

"Who the hell asked you Uchiha?" Kiba retorted angrily.

"The strength of a hidden village rests in the power of its shinobi. You're dragging what would be an effective team down into the gutter."

"Screw you! You have no idea how…" Kiba trailed off as he realized exactly who he was talking to. Sasuke had lost his mother too. And his father. And his cousins. And his clan. All done by his own brother who was still at large. It was clear to everyone at the table why Kiba has stopped.

Sasuke spiked his killing intent and stood up, "Did you forget who you were talking to mutt? You think you had it bad? At least you still have the rest of your family! Do you think your mother would want you to sulk like this? Act like a shinobi and be there for your team."

Kiba clenched his fists in rage and embarrassment. Hot tears welled in his eyes. He stood up abruptly nearly knocking over the table and raced out of the restaurant. Sasuke glanced at Kakashi who gave a barely perceivable nod. Mission successful.

Hinata stood up and chased after Kiba. Beneath Kakashi's mask he smiled. All of it was going according to plan. It had only taken a nudge from Kakashi earlier in the day, letting Hinata know that she should be there for her teammate if he ever needed someone to talk to about Tsume's death. Hinata having lost her own mother would be someone who could relate. With any luck Hinata would have a nice heart to heart with the troubled boy and he could begin reintegrating himself with team eight.

Kurenai was observant and had seen much of the byplay between Sasuke and Kakashi. "Kakashi, when you want to manipulate my team I would appreciate the courtesy of briefing me first."

"Maa Maa, I couldn't trust that you would agree with the plan."

Kurenai's hand twitched, wanting to grab her kunai. "This is my team not yours!"

Naruto, Sakura, Shino and Sasuke stayed quiet as the two jonin argued.

"Yes it's your team but I'm helping make it better."

Kurenai's pride was damaged. Kakashi had done wonders with his team. The way he had trained Sakura had blown her mind. She had never seen a more dedicated kunoichi. When they had made their deal and Kakashi had helped round out the team's skills she had been floored by the improvement in her team. The way they worked together, the way they thought and their combat mentality was all greatly enhanced. If it hadn't been for those additional training sessions all four of them would have been dead by the Iwa attack team.

She was grateful but it stung all the same. She was supposed to be their trusted teacher. The person who could train them best, she knew them best didn't she? It had shaken her self confidence when Kakashi had made so many positive changes in such a short period of time. And now once again he was coming in and improving her team. The way he was doing it was also galling as it bespoke of crass manipulation of emotions.

"You still should have asked me. And the fact that you put up your genin to it… our students may be shinobi but they are still people! No one has the right to manipulate people like this."

Kakashi laughed, "Are you serious? It is clear you haven't thought about that statement. If your friend is sad and you try to cheer them up is that also behavior you frown upon?"

"No but that's not the same!"

"Of course it is Kurenai. As long as the intentions are for the positive the deliberate manipulation of emotions to create stronger team unity and performance is part of our duty as their sensei! Every speech the Hokage makes is designed to manipulate feelings and emotions that will then lead to constructive action."

The red eyed jonin wasn't stupid she could see the logic behind it but it still had a profound distaste to her. "And your team is OK with this manipulation?"

Sasuke answered, "Of course. As long as it makes us stronger what is the harm? Kakashi-sensei teaches us to see underneath the underneath."

Naruto nodded in agreement, "Yeah and he's the best sensei ever, believe it!"

Sakura smiled, "He's changed all of us for the better. It wasn't a happy accident it was deliberate calculation. If he didn't have that level of knowledge and skill at pushing us the way he did we would probably be a mess."

Kurenai couldn't argue with what was before her. The three genin's strength spoke to the validity of Kakashi's methods.

"Forgive me Kakashi-senpai. It is clear I have much to learn about being a jonin sensei."

Kakashi gave her an eye smile, "I was taught by the best and your team would have been strong and effective even if I had not contributed. There is no shame." Kurenai smiled and they continued their meal while Hinata finally caught up with Kiba.

*****BREAK*****

Team seven continued their training. For the duration of the chunin exams they were assigned to the village itself. With several of the best jonin in Sunagakure it was critical for the team to remain. In Kakashi and the Hokage's eyes team seven was the single strongest team in the village. Even the most elite ANBU team would not have been able to defeat team seven.

A large part was Kakashi himself, the ANBU ranks only held one S ranked shinobi so it was a bit hard to compare. However the genin were a force themselves. Naruto's ability to summon the great battle toads was worth an entire division by itself. Jiraiya was confident in their abilities for good reason.

Kakashi didn't mind the missions being restricted to the village. That left more time for his favorite pastime. Training. He was quite pleased with his pink haired student. Her fuinjutsu ideas combined with the Naruto clones were going to increase their teams striking power. Having her make the scores of scrolls needed was time consuming but the practice helped her master the fuinjutsu art. Ink and specially made paper were starting to be pricey but they had completed a number of B and A ranked missions and so the team's coffers were able to absorb the cost.

During one of their team discussions they went over strengths and weaknesses of A and S ranked shinobi in bingo books. The team diligently planned strategies and tactics on how to defeat everyone from Sasori of the Red Sand to the current Raikage. "Remember almost all S class ranked opponents have hidden abilities they rarely use. Bingo books are not all knowing after all so always be on your guard. Remember arrogance leads to death."

"Hai Kakashi-Sensei!"

"Naruto has made a decision to begin harnessing the kyubi chakra as a weapon for the team. This does involve some danger so I will always be with him when he does this. I also want you two here. Sakura is learning fuinjutsu and it will be useful to see how the seal interacts, plus if the worst should happen she can help me strengthen the seal. Sasuke you're some added muscle but again don't be too alarmed. Jiraiya-Sama has briefed me on what needs to happen if it looks like the Kyubi is taking control."

Naruto swallowed thickly. The very last thing he wanted to do was hurt his teammates. Naruto thought about what needed to happen. He would begin to access the kyubi chakra slowly. As he pulled in more and more the fox's will would travel along with it. He needed to get used to forcing himself to be in control despite the demonic will that would be trying to let out its hate.

Kakashi set up the sensor barrier around the area. The fuinjutsu wasn't terribly complicated but it did take a bit to do. The purpose was to prevent any panic when the village suddenly sensed the nine tail's chakra. That done Naruto began.

Naruto began to draw upon the red chakra and allowed only a trickle in. His birthmarks on his cheeks become more prominent and he took in a deep breath. Kakashi said, "You can do this Naruto, keep control of it. You are the shinobi it is the mindless beast." A pulse of rage swept through Naruto as if the kyubi had heard his sensei's remark and had taken offense.

The young jinchuuriki struggled to maintain control. He bit the inside of his lip as he struggled to control the whirling maelstrom of hate that was filling him. A field of red enveloped him and he let out a growl. "That's good, just hold it don't increase it any further." Naruto fixated on his sensei's voice. The sea of hatred wanted him to lash out and hurt someone, anyone. Naruto closed his eyes and then opened them again, they were tinted with red. His pulse pounded in his ears but he refused to give in to it.

Instead he held the toxic chakra within him and Kakashi congratulated him, "Great job Naruto. Now I want you to spar and keep control of your abilities." Kakashi went into a battle stance and threw a kunai at Naruto. Sasuke watched with his Sharingan as Naruto's hand blurred as he batted aside the kunai. Naruto charged his taijutsu feral instead of controlled.

The speed and power increase was significant. As Kakashi dodged blows and lashed out with kicks and palm strikes he estimated the power increase was equivalent to opening the third gate the Gate of Life. 'Impressive considering he has yet to fully manifest a single tail.' Naruto's speed and strength were greatly enhanced but Kakashi was still able to dominate the match.

Naruto slammed his fist into the ground creating a miniature crater in frustration. Kakashi's harsh voice barked out, "Control Naruto! You are not a beast – you are not a demon. Stay focused." Naruto froze in place and warred internally with the feelings of hate and fury. Finally he released the kyubi chakra and collapsed to one knee.

"Sorry Kakashi-sensei I could feel my control slipping." Under the Sharingan Kakashi could see Naruto's muscles trembling, they had been strained by the demonic chakra. He could also tell that Naruto, despite his immense endurance, was exhausted by using the kyubi chakra for so long.

"You did fine Naruto. I wonder if other jinchuuriki have a problem with their tailed beast's chakra physically damaging their body. Something for me to research – for now we'll continue working on it every other day." The team continued their group training further refining their team tactics. At the end of a very long day Kakashi spoke with his team once more.

"Kumo and Iwa are our biggest threats. Currently Iwa has made some aggressive moves toward Sunagakure after testing the waters with Konoha and finding no weakness."

Sakura asked, "Why is Iwa looking to start another war?"

Kakashi looked at Naruto and offered for him to explain.

"It's because of how the last war ended. Iwa thought they were doing very well until my dad slaughtered them. They came to the peace table defeated and shamed. They are eager to prove themselves on the national stage so they can regain their prestige."

Kakashi spoke up again, "Our Hokage wants peace and is therefore renewing our alliance with Suna. I personally have my doubts about this being the best course of action however the Godaime has spoken and I will enforce his edicts." Kakashi gestured with a hand, "This means that Iwa will think twice before going after Sunagakure. Their aggression and desire for war will just grow."

"Hnn, who are they going to go after? Mist isn't geographically feasible and they have already tested us. I doubt they would turn on their former allies in Lightning Country."

"A few possibilities but one that seems likely to me is that they will become desperate for a victory and launch an attack at a smaller village. Given the proximity and relatively friendly relationship with us I suspect it will be Takigakure."

Naruto asked, "What does the Hokage think?"

"He thinks it's a possibility and has tried to strengthen bonds with the village. He has also finally agreed to allow us to send a message to Iwagakure via the chunin exams."

The three genin were a bit surprised, Konoha did not compete in the Iwa chunin exams and Iwa never sent any shinobi to their exams either. "In three months Kumo will be hosting their chunin exams and for the first time since the end of the third shinobi war Konoha is going to send a genin team. If you are willing Naruto we will be revealing you at the chunin exams in Kumo."

"Revealing me?"

"Yes as the son of Minato Namikaze."

Sakura and Sasuke had already been informed by Naruto of his parentage. Naruto had not believed in keeping secrets from his team. Still they were surprised by this turn of events. Reveal Naruto as the fourth Hokage's son? That would make them an instant target. Sasuke thought, 'Good maybe then we'll get opponents who can challenge us.'

"You will not reveal your identity until the final part of the exam. Like Konoha the final portion has a one month waiting period. It is at the start of the chunin finals that you will be revealed." Kakashi continued, "The plan is twofold. First you will impress upon Kumo just how powerful you are, creating a powerful deterrent. Second it will be to draw out Iwagakure's shinobi. They hate Minato-sensei for what he did to their forces and the surrender that they had to swallow. They will come for you during the final part of the exam as well as immediately after we leave Kumo."

Sasuke was already getting excited by the prospect. Sakura frowned thoughtfully.

"And that's where we will proceed to thin out the ranks of Iwa shinobi. Jiraiya would not allow for us to be the aggressor but will allow us to defend ourselves."

Naruto considered the situation and asked, "We are good but Iwa has a lot of shinobi and some of their bloodlines can be dangerous."

Kakashi was glad that his students weren't all as cocky as Sasuke. "You make a good point – which is why we will have some help close by. The final roster isn't set. I first need to know Naruto, are you willing to do this?" Naruto didn't have to think very long. He would finally be able to honor his parents and claim his birthright. It would also be a solid step toward fulfilling his dream of becoming the next Hokage.

"Yes I am willing to do this. Believe it."

**AN: **I've taken a few liberties but we know Iwa and Suna had some conflict in past wars. With Suna being significantly worse off due to the loss of their jinchuuriki and Kakashi's little rampage during the invasion I could see Iwa testing the waters there as well. I plan on doing a few more training scenes as well as a brief glance into the Suna exams and then it's off to the chunin exams in Kumo. As always feedback is appreciated.


	26. Chapter 25: Exams and Plans

**AN: **So let's talk about pairings… first remember they are 13. They are also incredibly dedicated to their training. So there won't be any pairings right away but eventually it makes sense to have them. I'll let you know I have no interest in writing much detail about dates and courtship. I also am not wedded to any particular pairing. Go ahead and vote what pairings you want team seven to have. The most logical sense for Sakura is either Naruto or Sasuke – so unless there are some really interesting ideas that catch my fancy I'll be doing one or the other. Feel free to vote in your review of this chapter and I'll probably go with the pairing with the most votes.

**Chapter 25: **Exams and Plans

Iruka dodged a punch from Naruto and responded with a quick jab towards Naruto's ribs with his kunai. Naruto grabbed the arm as it was striking for him and used his superior strength to throw Iruka into the air. Naruto flipped through the hand seals and finished **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) as Iruka was still flying through the air.

Naruto's academy teacher swiftly used the body substitution technique with a pack on the ground and then charged Naruto. "Ahh Iruka-sensei that had my food in it!" Naruto made a shadow clone to deal with Iruka as he chased after his precious pack that contained a seal scroll with ramen in it. Iruka couldn't help but smile even as the shadow clone started attacking with vicious speed.

Iruka was now backing up against the furious assault. Meanwhile Naruto caught his pack clutching it making sure the scroll was safe. Iruka was barely able to keep up and was hit with a kick to the ribs which sent him flying a good seven feet. In mid air he threw a pair of shuriken at the clone that drew a kunai and deflected them away. Iruka hit the ground and rolled up into a defensive stance. He sensed another Naruto clone behind him and dodged the roundhouse.

The real Naruto watched on analyzing Iruka's moves looking to see where improvement could occur. Finally Iruka managed to peg a clone and it dissipated. The second clone however came in and delivered a sharp blow to his short ribs that winded Iruka who was now exhausted and collapsed on the ground.

Naruto walked over and helped him up. Iruka was a bit embarrassed, he knew Naruto could make dozens of clones and he was defeated by just two. Naruto said, "Iruka-sensei you didn't do anything wrong in the fight but you are just too slow. You have to work on speed, have you tried wearing weights?" Iruka responded, "It isn't typically recommended. You have to put insane hours into conditioning with them and there have been plenty of shinobi who have used them and then tore a ligament or even broken bones. Typically only taijutsu specialists do it."

Naruto scratched his head, "Yeah you have to be careful. Kakashi-sensei said I have a huge advantage by healing so quickly. But he also said that every good shinobi should work on speed and strength. He started Sakura on really light weights and she was careful with them and now she could probably beat you in taijutsu. I really think that's going to help the most."

Iruka decided he would take the advice. Kakashi was a prodigy who had been made a chunin before most children even graduated from the academy. He knew what he was doing. They sat down to eat lunch and Naruto ate his ramen like he always did, with childlike joy and abandon. The sight always brought a smile to the teacher's face.

"I'm also going to work on my elemental affinity. I learned that I had a Suiton affinity and never really pursued it. If you remember your academy lessons water jutsu counters fire jutsu but Katon users aren't that common outside of Fire Country. I didn't see much of a point." Naruto thought that idea was silly but he could understand if Iruka was content with being a chunin who taught in the academy there wasn't a need to go beyond that.

"Well you got to fix that Iruka-sensei! A lot of jonin use two different elements."

"I know I know, after you explained what Kakashi taught you about how often war occurs I feel a bit embarrassed about not pushing myself harder."

After finishing the meal Naruto said, "Well I have team practice. Sakura-chan wants to use my clones as test dummies again. I want to see some cool water jutsu next time we spar!" Iruka nodded amiably and asked him to say hi to Sakura and Sasuke for him.

*****BREAK*****

The chunin exams first couple of rounds had mostly gone as Temari had expected. Her team advanced to the final rounds of course. The sensei with the too heavy eyebrow's team had also passed. That team was pretty dangerous in Temari's eyes. The other team that had made it through was the one with the other Hyuga. She, the Aburame and the Inuzuka were also skilled. Temari had been surprised when Shikamaru's team hadn't made it. She supposed it had something to do with their lack of confidence at what happened in the previous chunin exams.

The Suna exam was similar to Konoha's version. The first two parts were different however the last exam was exactly the same. One on one combat in one month's time would be what the genin would have to do to showcase their skills. The matches had been randomly selected and Temari was anxious for her fight. She would be facing the Inuzuka boy, intelligence on him indicated he was very skilled in taijutsu and worked well with his furry partner.

'I'll want to keep my distance against him. But even if he doesn't let me I have a plan for that to.'

Of course now that she knew her opponent she would have to wait an entire month before she got to fight him. After she won that round she would have to fight the winner of the Aburame and the weapons specialist. 'Either one should be no problem. It's the final match that worries me a bit.'

She knew her brother was skilled but he was up against the green clad clone of Gai Maito. Gai was the taijutsu specialist who kept the fully awoken demon at bay until Kakashi came and finished it off. Temari at first had been angry at what they had done to her brother but after reflection she realized that they were the ones who had been invaded. Instead she was angry at her own dead father who had placed the Ichibi inside her baby brother.

Anyone who copied his sensei so closely would have skills that matched. If his speed and power were event a fifth of Gai her brother would be in trouble. And then there were the two from the Hyuga clan. They could be tricky as well. The top bracket looked rather challenging her mind. 'Konoha has way too many damned taijutsu specialists,' she thought to herself.

Temari resigned herself to a month of brutal training by the best instructors of Suna. Baki-sensei was determined to make her the next Kazekage but she would need to become significantly stronger before she could be accepted as the next leader of Sunagakure.

'I do this for you Gaara.'

*****BREAK*****

Naruto blocked the upward slash with his own katana. The angle had surprised Naruto but his quick reflexes allowed him to parry the blow. His opponent's blade slid away from his and then was swiftly arching toward his face. Naruto was forced into another parry and then another. His opponent did not have his speed but he did have the edge in their spar. Hayate Gekko was one with his sword and was proving why he was considered a kenjutsu prodigy within the village.

Naruto had been working with him for the last week for four hours a day. Naruto of course could have trained longer however when Hayate became too winded his lungs would not let him continue. Naruto had wondered how such a skilled and physically tough opponent could be so sickly but felt it was impolite to ask. Instead he eagerly accepted the practice and tutoring in the blade.

The Kage Bunshin allowed his clones to act almost as skilled as he was. The downside was that they were fragile. The sword though gave them reach and allowed deadly striking power. If he could wield his katana half as well as Hayate did his clones would become a lot scarier.

Hayate began coughing which was the signal to take a break. After Hayate recovered from his coughing fit he said, "Not bad you are improving. The problem 'cough' 'cough' is that you relay on your speed instead of your technique. By using it as a reflexive crutch you'll never master the correct counters." Naruto listened with rapt attention.

"The 18th parry you used you brought your blade all the way across your body. If I had your speed I would have cut you in two before it reached to block. Instead you should of have moved away from the blade as you brought yours down meeting it with a downward stroke."

The young jinchuuriki played back the battle in his mind and saw what Gekko was saying. "I suppose I could try slowing my speed down when we spar." Hayate nodded his head, "That would be a good idea. In fact let's both slow down our speed and focus on the technique and correct parries. Then we'll slowly increase the speed to where it should be." Naruto agreed and the two went at it again.

*****BREAK*****

Temari had been right about Lee. Lee had utterly destroyed Kankuro's puppets and then went on to defeat her brother. Lee was a speed demon. Temari couldn't actually keep up with his movements. Temari heard the boy's cheerful screams of victory and youth and shuddered. 'How can a shinobi be that powerful and that ridiculous?' Temari glanced where the Hokage was sitting. 'Well rumor has it Jiraiya has spent much of his adult life peeking on women's baths and writing shameful books perhaps how one composes themselves isn't related to how strong they are.'

The next battle was Neji against the genin on her team. Temari yawned as the Hyuga easily crushed his opponent. 'My turn.' Temari leapt down into the prepared area and watched as Kiba and his ninken entered. When the match started Temari instantly let loose a blast of wind with her war fan.

The battle was a lot tougher then Temari had thought it would be. It came as a surprise when the Inuzuka used Doton to counter her Futon attacks. It had been an exhausting fight and during the fight Temari was concerned that Sunagakure would be embarrassed by having all of their final round participants lose right away. In the end she squeaked out a victory when Kiba was a moment too slow in defending against her iron fan.

She struggled to catch her breath after the match. Her chakra reserves were at near exhaustion levels. She really hoped that the next set of matches were dragged out so she could recover somewhat. Her next opponent would be the winner of Tenten and the bug user. Normally she would feel confident against her foe but with her chakra so depleted she didn't know how many Futon jutsu she could use before collapsing.

Temari watched the match with interest. Tenten began the match by throwing modified smoke grenades that killed the bugs but didn't do anything significant to a human. The Aburame had lost his best weapon but had quickly charged in to close quarters.

Tenten backed away firing kunai with explosive tags at her opponent. Shino dodged to the right and the left and even rolled under one barrage. He drew a short sword and lashed out at Tenten in close range. Tenten blocked with her own katana she had drawn only for Shino to have surprised her completely. Shino had let go of the blade in the last moment before Tenten's parry. His hand was under the Tenten's katana and green chakra pooled around it forming a chakra scalpel that cut into Tenten's forearm.

Her muscles had been cut and her katana fell uselessly down to the sand. Tenten had the presence of mind to step away from the next swipe from the chakra scalpel. Temari could tell the girl was surprised that the bug user was so proficient in close combat. Most Aburame were weak in real close combat. Most of the clan were OK with this as this made their opponents tactics easy to predict and they would often use bug clones to trap their opponents when they tried to get in close.

Tenten wasn't giving up however as she pulled out shuriken and threw them wide missing her opponent completely. Shino charged and then Tenten manipulated the thrown shuriken with ninja wire using only one hand. Shino had to side step the return shuriken. This proved to be a mistake as the ninja wire wrapped itself around him.

Shino jumped back sharply hoping to pull the girl off balance giving him time to get out of the trap however Tenten was stronger then she looked. She jerked back with her one arm and her bound opponent crashed into the ground. Tenten quickly sprang forward and placed a kunai on Shino's neck. "I yield congratulations Tenten-san."

Temari was impressed by both of them and was glad that her next opponent would be injured heading into the next fight. Temari watched as the other Hyuga faced off against Lee. Since there were nine finalists she had sat out after the first rounds. Gaara's sister watched as again as Lee was triumphant. She had to give credit to the girl though, she didn't give up and had evidently mastered the Kaiten and was able to repulse the green clan shinobi several times.

Ultimately superior speed was triumphant. If you were faster than your opponent to a significant degree there was typically very little you could do to overcome that. Temari walked back out into the fighting area and defeated the wounded Tenten. With only one arm available it had put Tenten in a too significant of a disadvantage. After the victory Temari watched in interest as the Hyuga and the speed freak fought. Whoever won that match would face her in the finals.

Temari's eyes bulged in shock as Lee took off weights he had been wearing. 'He has been wearing weights the entire time?' Lee crashed into Neji who also defended with the Kaiten but also moved swifter then his younger cousin. While Neji didn't have the raw speed that Lee did he did have superb control in taijutsu and was able to force his teammate back.

Temari heard Lee say, "You have been my rival since the day we became teammates. You have always beaten me but today I will prove to you hard work can beat a genius!" Neji snorted, "You can't fight fate. I am sorry but you are destined to lose." Temari got the distinct impression that this was an oft repeated argument between the two of them.

"Open Gate of Life!" The sand genin watched as Lee's skin turned red and power seemed to radiate from him. Neji blinked with his white eyes in shock. Lee kicked up sand as he charged forward his strike nearly shattering Neji's arm. Neji flew back and hastily righted himself right as Lee lashed out with a devastating kick. Neji chose to dodge this time and counter attack with a strike aimed at causing damage to Lee's lungs forcing the end of the fight. Lee however blocked and the taijutsu battle was on. Neji couldn't believe he forced on the defensive by the onetime dead last.

Lee was winning but he couldn't keep the gates up forever. Temari saw Lee back up and scream, "Gate of Limit open!" Lee's speed and power were greatly improved and he rocketed toward his opponent. Temari could see the shock on Neji's face; despite his absolute mastery of the gentle fist style he could not stop Lee from thrashing him in just a few seconds. The winner was Lee and that would be her opponent.

Lee was bouncing up a down on his feet and said, "Let's go I am ready for my next opponent!" Temari simply shook her head, "There is a five minute waiting period between fights so why don't you just rest up?" Lee was crestfallen. The next couple of minutes ticked by and before Temari even entered into the sand Lee collapsed. The proctor asked if he could continue but Lee was already unconscious.

'Not the most daring victory but to a shinobi victory is all that matters,' Temari thought to herself. She was glad that she had won, it was good to give her village something to be proud of after recent events. She knew though that her training would have to be stepped up. If the green clad genin had been fresh she probably would have lost the fight.

*****BREAK*****

The Hokage had returned and was going to publically announce who would be granted the promotion to chunin. Team seven had shown up and they were curious to see who had made the cut. The news of Temari being the overall winner of the elimination style tournament had already reached them. However the chunin exams were more than just about winning. Winning matches gave you more chances to show off your skill but it didn't guarantee selection.

Jiraiya was on a raised platform with the six chunin candidates that made it to the final rounds in front of him. Naruto hoped that their friends in team eight were given the nod. He also liked Lee who was a harder worker and Tenten because she had once helped him out. Neji seemed like a bit of a jerk however Naruto didn't hold a grudge so if he was selected he wouldn't mind.

"Konoha look with pride upon these young shinobi. They are our future! Two thirds of the finalists were from our village, they have all proven themselves capable shinobi." The mixture of civilians and ninja applauded. "Kiba – you have improved greatly since the academy. Your taijutsu and ninjutsu are chunin level." The Inuzuka was grinning in anticipation however he was disappointed by Jiraiya's next words. "However you have failed to show the necessary leadership capabilities to be promoted. Mission reports show an unwillingness to be a team player. Some can be forgiven due to recent stress however chunin promotions are not based on what is fair but what will best help the village. If you prove yourself capable in mission within the next six months I will reconsider my decision."

Naruto thought that was fair. Kiba had attacked his teammate and failed to work with his team effectively. His skill meant that he fought at a chunin level but if he could not work in a team he wouldn't get the promotion. Kiba lowered his head, he was disappointed but had no one to blame but himself.

"Hinata – you displayed significant mastery of your clan's gentle fist style. During the first two rounds of the chunin exams you played a key part in allowing your team to advance. In recent months you have demonstrated significant leadership capability. Congratulations you are promoted to chunin!" The crowd cheered and Hinata looked pleased. Naruto spotted Hiashi politely clapping as well. And for the reserved Hyuga clan leader that was the equivalent of regular people whistling and giving a standing ovation.

"Shino – you also have demonstrated significant skill with your clan's techniques. You are calm under pressure and your skill with medical jutsu will make you welcome on any team. While you did not win your match you proved that you could adept well even without your greatest strength and nearly defeated your opponent. Congratulations you are promoted to chunin!" Naruto smiled, two out of three wasn't bad!

Jiraiya turned to Kurenai. "Kurenai Yuh, you have mentored these three genin well. As a first time jonin sensei I am impressed by what you have accomplished. I fully believe both Shino and Hinata are prepared to join other teams and even lead them if necessary. However for the time being I will keep your team intact." Kurenai thanked the Hokage. She didn't want her team to break up so soon anyway.

Jiraiya turned to the other kunoichi. "Tenten you are skilled with a hundred different weapons. Despite your prowess as a weapons mistress I am most impressed by your foresight and planning. You independently developed a compound that would neutralize your opponent's greatest weapon. Your planning allowed you to advance to the next round and has earned you the promotion to chunin." Tenten had a huge un-shinobi like grin plastered on her face that no one was going to begrudge her.

The Hokage next looked at the other Hyuga. "Neji you are a prodigy. Your skill is not questioned however I do suggest you respect your comrades and their abilities more in the future." Neji frowned and Naruto wondered if he wasn't going to get a promotion. "Despite this you have proven yourself both mentally and physically equipped for the next level. Congratulations on your promotion to chunin."

Continuing on to the last individual, the Hokage smiled. "Lee you are a living embodiment of the will of fire. Despite obstacles thrown in your path you have grown to be a spending shinobi. Be proud of that!" Lee and his sensei both had tears in their eyes. "Congratulations on being promoted to chunin!" Lee jumped with joy. Jiraiya allowed a moment for them to compose themselves.

"Gai, you have done an excellent job with your team. While you will always be their mentor, your time as their sensei is over. You will be assigned a new team and they will be given chunin teams to serve in." Gai was saddened by the news; he had hoped to continue leading the team. Naruto saw the disappointment in Gai's eyes but then saw Gai recover and say, "Yosh! My little genin have demonstrated the fiery power of youth! Now I must share my youth with others!"

Kakashi was also watching and smiled underneath his mask. He was glad that his friend and 'rival' wasn't too broken up about losing his genin team. Kakashi was responsible for the change because Gai was needed elsewhere. With the Hokage finishing the announcements Kakashi and his team went and congratulated the freshly minted chunin.

*****BREAK*****

The final two months before the chunin exams saw the final preparations completed. Naruto trained hard but was only able to control two tails worth of kyubi chakra. Naruto could have attempted to go for three however he didn't want to take chances. Iron will was required when dealing with that level of hate that flowed through his system at two tails worth. On the plus side his skill with the katana had improved remarkably under Gekko's daily tutelage.

Sakura stockpiled various fuinjutsu sealed elements. She literally had hundreds of battle ready scrolls that could be used. Air pressure scrolls full of weapons were the least dangerous of them. She also had higher tiered explosive seals created under the supervision of the Hokage himself. Scrolls made with toxins that could knock enemies unconscious and other poisons that were even lethal. She had a few acidic based surprises in store as well.

The budding fuinjutsu specialist also stored a large amount of water to help Sasuke with his recently acquired Suiton techniques. It also could help Sasuke and Kakashi with electrocuting their enemies with Raiton. While Sakura had a significant focus on fuinjutsu she also maintained several hours of conditioning on top of that and ensured that she lost none of her lethality with Genjutsu.

Sasuke continued to make taijutsu a focus, pushing his body hard. He was spurred on because Naruto could now defeat him in a taijutsu duel when he accessed the kyubi's chakra. The last Uchiha was no longer the best in taijutsu and he longed to reclaim that crown amongst the genin on his team. He was aware that Naruto could potentially have several more tails of chakra available to him in the future which further widen the gap. The remaining time was spent on mastering a few Suiton jutsu.

Besides training other plans were put in motion. Naruto and Sasuke memorized several games that Shikaku and Shikamaru played against each other. Kakashi had a passing thought of showcasing their brilliance by playing a rehearsed game while in Kumo. The idea that two of his genin were master Shogi players would infer a grasp of strategic and tactical talent that would surprise the Land of Lighting. Shogi was popular throughout the elemental nations but most of the masters were in the Land of Lightning itself.

A new wardrobe was designed for Naruto. During the first two parts of the exam he would dress like normal. A month later he would change. His bodysuit would instead be a burnt orange and he would have a white haori cut in the same style as his father's minus the kanji indicating he was the fourth hokage. Instead it would be replaced with his name, Naruto Namikaze. Due to the secrecy involved Kakashi had made the garment himself and that had led to a never ending parade of jokes from Jiraiya about Kakashi's true calling, that of a seamstress.

The backup team was also finalized. Tsunade had gone on a few missions and had seen blood and had no adverse reaction. Jiraiya then agreed that the next S class mission he wanted Shizune to go on would instead be done by Tsunade. Being backup for team seven as they faced off against whatever assassins Iwa decided to send would definitely be classified as an S ranked mission. Tsunade was tapped to be the medical specialist for the team. And the fact that she was an S class shinobi herself would provide the backup team with tremendous killing potential.

To round out that killing potential the team would also have Gai. The taijutsu specialist of Konoha and Tsunade of the Sanin made the team incredibly lethal. Gai was rated an A ranked threat in most bingo books but with access to the gates he should have been listed as an S ranked threat. The third member of the team would be Shibi Aburame. His bugs could be used to track team seven's movements and zero in on their location if they had to retreat beyond the predetermined path.

The final member of the team would be the **Mokuton** (Wood Release) ANBU operative known as Tenzo. Both Tenzo and Shibi were veterans of the assault on Orochimaru. However given her status as one of the Sanin, it was Tsunade who would be leading the backup squad. Their squad would hide out in **Shimo no Kuni **(Land of Frost) incognito at the borders of the Land of Lightning.

As a secondary backup there would be a large number of shinobi in **Yu no Kuni** (Land of Hot Water) relaxing in their famous hot springs. In actuality it would be 10 full squads of shinobi ready to lend aid. The squads there would include team eight. If need be they could race across the border into **Shimo no Kuni** (Land of Frost) This was more of a last resort however as the strength of team seven and the backup squad was far greater than the 40 shinobi that was their secondary relief force.

All plans were in place and now it was time to see off team seven as they began their journey to Kumogakure. Jiraiya said his goodbyes in the Hokage's office. "I don't have to remind you four how dangerous this mission is. We aren't sure exactly how Iwa will respond." Jiraiya paced in front of his desk. "If there was another way to prevent war I would take it but Iwagakure is forcing our hand. Your mission is simple; annihilate the Iwa shinobi who attack you."

Naruto grinned, "Don't worry pervy sage we will take care of it." Kakashi's eye twitched at Naruto calling the Hokage by that nickname. Jiraiya however simply laughed, "I do have something for my irritating Godson before he goes off to a potential war." Jiraiya pulled out a scroll and released the seal on it. In his hands was a katana. The blade was exquisite and Naruto grinned. Jiraiya ruffled the boy's hair and said, "Push some chakra into it Naruto."

Naruto did and was shocked. The entire blade was made up of the same chakra conductive material that his specially made kunai were made from. The blade hummed with his powerful wind chakra. "This katana can channel your chakra easily, with it you can slice through almost any defense and split in two nearly any sword that tries to parry." Naruto's eyes glazed over. This was the best gift anyone had ever given him!

"I've also added a seal to it to prevent it from breaking; however the seal only lasts for three days. I've taught Sakura the fuinjutsu seal for it and despite you not getting very far in your fuinjutsu studies I'm confident you'll learn how to do it." Jiraiya paused, "Keep in mind it's not necessary to use a seal to harden it against most enemies but you never know when you'll encounter some other legendary weapon or an attack that can shatter steel."

Naruto thanked Jiraiya and the Hokage wished them luck one last time. As they left his office Jiraiya sighed. Iwa hated the Yondaime. He was playing a dangerous game but if it was successful it would do a number of beneficial things. It would greatly impact Iwa's ability to wage war. It would be a show of force to the other elemental nations and their hidden villages. And most of all it would pave the way for Naruto to become the next Hokage. Team seven had made a name for themselves in the recent invasion but if they destroyed a sizeable Iwagakure force they would truly be on their way to becoming legends. 'But only if they survive.'

**AN: **Next stop – Kumo!


	27. Chapter 26: Kumogakure!

**AN: **And this chapter is now officially the longest chapter yet! I wasn't fully pleased with the first part since it felt rushed but I was impatient to get to the reveal. Oh and for those who care about pairings it looks like it will be Naruto/Sakura however keep in mind nothing is going to really happen on that front for awhile.

**Chapter 26: **Kumogakure!

Team seven kept a wary eye out on their journey to Kumo. They were not in any particular danger however Kakashi had driven home the lesson of always being on guard. As they crossed through the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost the three genin were filled with anxious energy. Naruto in particularly was antsy.

"Maa Maa calm down Naruto. The real fighting won't even begin until the final round and that will be a month from now." Naruto huffed, "I know that Kakashi-sensei that's why I'm going nuts!" Sakura put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "Naruto we are ready there is no need to be nervous. You'll make your father proud."

Naruto smiled, "Thanks Sakura-chan I just want it to happen already."

"Hnn you think you have it bad? Do you know how long I've waited to hunt down Itachi?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head with slight embarrassment, "Ah I guess one month isn't so bad."

"Hnn."

Sakura lightly punched Sasuke on the arm, "Sasuke-kun if you knew Itachi was waiting for you in Kumo you know you would be bouncing off the walls with anticipation just like Naruto is." Sasuke arched an eyebrow and shrugged. "Maybe so but if I did it wouldn't be helping anyone and Naruto isn't helping right now either so don't encourage him."

Kakashi eyed his three genin. They had grown much more comfortable with each other during the past year. It was a far cry from what they were like when he first got the team. Sasuke had been quiet and held nothing but contempt for his teammates. Sakura had been a hopeless fan girl and Naruto had just been hopeless as a shinobi. It was comforting to see Sakura sticking up for Naruto. Now they cared for each other and worked like a well oiled machine on and off the battlefield.

He addressed his team, "When we get to Kumo during the exams use some misdirection. Sakura I want you to avoid using fuinjutsu and keep your Genjutsu limited to C ranked abilities or lower. Naruto don't use kyubi chakra. Sasuke don't use your Suiton abilities and avoid using your modified Chidori techniques. For all of you set your weight seals to about half. When Iwa comes I want them to underestimate us."

Naruto spoke up, "But I thought we were also supposed to impress Kumo?"

"You are and you will. But we don't want to give intelligence about all of your capabilities to any Iwa shinobi that will be there. Iwa always sends shinobi to the Kumo chunin exams."

Sasuke smirked, "We are going against genin. It's not like we are going to need all of our abilities to beat them."

Kakashi responded, "That is true but don't lower your guard. You are all technically ranked genin, other villages may also have genin who are much stronger than their rank would suggest."

Sasuke acquiesced and nodded toward his sensei.

Their journey continued and soon they were in the Land of Lightning proper. They were stopped by a chunin patrol of Kumo shinobi. The lead shinobi commanded they halt, "I suppose you must be the Konoha team that was sent to the exams." Kakashi answered, "Hai this is my team." The chunin took the scroll from Kakashi and read it over. "You can pass but if I were you I would turn around."

Kakashi asked, "And why is that?"

"Because Konoha scum isn't well liked here."

Kakashi was amused and responded, "Oh don't worry we aren't Konoha scum, we wouldn't dream of letting our scum represent the village in your chunin exams."

The chunin scowled, "It's a pity I have to stay at my post it would be fun to watch your team get killed against real shinobi."

Kakashi ignored the last remark and just motioned for his team to follow.

When team seven had passed outside of ear shot one of the other chunin approached the leader. "Are you insane? You just insulted Sharingan no Kakashi to his face!" The chunin team leader swallowed thickly. He hadn't realized he was talking to an S ranked shinobi! The shaken chunin went back to his post glad that he never gave his name out to the masked leaf nin.

*****BREAK*****

**Kaminari** **no** **Kuni** (Land of Lightning) was a mountainous region with several valley and rivers. Fog would cover some of those valleys obscuring view for miles. "Hidden in the clouds really is a good descriptor," Naruto remarked. The team agreed but remained quiet; it was time to enter Kumo.

They were quickly stopped as they entered into Kumogakure proper. Once again they showed their scroll and stated their intent of joining the chunin exams. They were given directions to a place where they could stay. Kakashi and his team sensed that they were being followed. When they arrived at their location they were greeted by a dark skinned man whose white hair was covering one of his eyes. The other eye seemed to battle Kakashi in terms of who could look lazier.

Naruto stopped and pointed. "Kakashi I think we found your cousin!" Kakashi's eye twitched at his student's antics. Sakura sighed, "Shut up Naruto-baka! They aren't related." Naruto shook his head violently, "But look at him! He's got that same look that Kakashi has when he wanders around town. He's got white hair. And I can tell just by looking at him he's jonin level."

Kakashi resisted the urge to stab his sensei's son with a Chidori. "Naruto I do not have any family in Kumo!" Darui allowed a small smile to appear on his face as he looked at the Konoha team. "My name is Darui and I've been sent by the Raikage to explain a few things." Kakashi inclined his head, "Let's get off of the street Darui-san." Darui motioned for them to enter the building.

The building was actually a home that had not been lived in for some time. It was clean however and had four bedrooms so it would do. Darui spoke, "The Raikage welcomes you to Kumogakure. Your new Hokage hopes for peace to continue with Kumo and at this time that aligns with our interests. But we both know that fostering friendly relations by having your team compete in the chunin exams isn't the true reason you are here."

Kakashi spread his hands innocently, "What do you mean Darui-san? Forging closer relations between villages is one of the purposes of the chunin exams." Darui clearly didn't believe Kakashi in the slightest. "I'm not here to interrogate you about your true mission but there are some ground rules for your stay in Kumo."

Team seven listened as the jonin explained. They were not to travel more than half a mile from their lodgings. There were suitable restaurants as well as a shinobi supply store within the accepted radius. They would be watched by two shinobi teams at all times and should do nothing to try to avoid them. "If one of you is no longer under observation we will take the rest into custody and begin our interrogation. We may not have a Yamanaka but that means it will be less than pleasant. Sorry but that's the way it has to be."

Kakashi shrugged, "We accept your terms you'll have no problems with us Darui-san." Darui turned to leave and then paused, "Tomorrow we'll guide you to the chunin exams entrance and you'll be given a spot with the other jonin who are observing the exams."

After Darui left Sakura commented, "Well aren't they a friendly bunch." Kakashi gave her an eye smile, "They probably think you are my cover to assassinate someone during the exams." Naruto started to speak but Kakashi caught his eye and gave him the hand signal to be quiet, observes could be listening. Naruto blinked and then opened his mouth again, "I'm hungry! Do you think they have a ramen stand here?"

Unfortunately for Naruto they did not. Naruto had several complaints about this and swore the next time he left the village he was packing a month's supply of ramen. The team noticed the observers that were watching them. More than likely at least one of them was a sensor shinobi of some sort so they continued to avoid any conversation about their true mission.

While they were at the restaurant they spotted another team of genin. This group was from **Shimogakure** (Village Hidden in Frost). They were surprised to see a Konoha team there and approached. Shimogakure didn't have any rivalry with Konoha but they chose to send their few teams to Kumo simply due to proximity. Normally they only had one or two teams to send as their shinobi forces were several magnitudes smaller than the five great hidden villages.

Kakashi and his team were respectful, even Naruto. The jonin sensei of the frost nin was a kunoichi by the name of Yakata. She had short dark hair, a pretty face and was interested in Kakashi. For some reason the mask intrigued others. Many people had gone to incredible lengths to try to see under it.

Yakata was one of those intrigued and based on her hints she was willing to help Kakashi 'relax' on the night before the chunin exams because no doubt he was stressed about how his team would do. Kakashi politely rebuffed her and took her arm and leaned in closer to whisper. "Yakata I have a bounty on my head of over 50 million ryo. I am in a village that barely tolerates my presence. I am not about to lower my guard no matter how beautiful the distraction." Kakashi released her arm and she bowed politely, "Of course Kakashi-san, enjoy your meal."

Sakura did a double take, "Did she just…" Kakashi nodded, "Hai Sakura. I didn't detect any ill will but a skilled kunoichi can make herself seem harmless. I doubt she was an assassin but I am not about to take any chances." Sakura blushed faintly; it was rather awkward thinking about Kakashi and a kunoichi in that manner. Sakura bit her lip, "I know in the academy we were taught that some kunoichi used their bodies to get close to targets. I… I'm not going to have to do that am I?"

Kakashi laughed, "Maa Maa, no you aren't. In Konoha that is strictly voluntary." Naruto found the situation rather funny but knew laughing would cause Sakura to be rather irritated with him. Sakura replied, "That's a relief. I do feel bad though, based on what you said it sounds like kunoichi in other villages don't get the choice."

"Depends on the village, depends on the Kage but yes many other villages require their shinobi to use every weapon at their disposal."

Naruto finally had to say something or he would burst, "Who in Konoha volunteers for those missions?" Sakura gave Naruto a dark look and Kakashi gave his genin an eye smile. "That would be telling Naruto and highly unprofessional of me." Sasuke smirked, "Why do you want to know dobe? I thought you wanted to be with Sakura?" As Naruto hurriedly backpedaled Kakashi watched on with amusement. After awhile Kakashi cut in and said, "All right you two stop tormenting Naruto. Let's head back to our temporary home. All of you will want plenty of sleep before the exams."

*****BREAK*****

Team seven was guided to the first exam. There they were split up and Kakashi went with the other jonin to observe. Kakashi was curious about the Kumo exams. Suna and Konoha had similar exams but who could say what Kumo and Iwa had been doing in the last decade. Not that Kakashi was worried; regardless of the type of exam his genin shouldn't have any problem.

The first exam turned out to be rather mundane. It was essentially a much tougher academy test. The chunin hopefuls had to demonstrate taijutsu and ninjutsu. They had to demonstrate proficiency with shinobi tools such as hitting targets with kunai. At the end of the barrage of simple tests was one final exam. All three genin of the team had to take down a chunin without doing serious injury. The test highlighted restraint as well as skill, it was far easier to kill someone then take someone down with only minor injury.

Needless to say team seven aced all of the exams. The final test was a bit of a joke. Sasuke, impatient at not having anything remotely challenging had simply charged forward and easily defeated the chunin in a taijutsu duel. The last Uchiha took care not to hurt the cloud nin too bad and simply knocked him out.

Team seven had pass the first exam with flying colors, they did receive a few points off for not using teamwork against the chunin but with each of them scoring the highest possible marks in taijutsu, shinobi tools and ninjutsu it didn't matter. The group of jonin had been weeded out as their teams failed to pass with the required score.

With less of a crowd Kakashi was spotted by a pair of Iwa jonin. Kakashi had memorized the bingo books just like Naruto had and knew the two of them weren't serious threats. He ignored them as they approached. "What are you doing here?" Kakashi pointedly ignored them and so they came closer. One began radiating killer intent and Kakashi finally looked up. "I'm here with my genin team just as you are with your genin team."

The other jonin had started to watch the potential confrontation. A cloud nin hurried in between the Iwa and Kakashi. "There will be no fighting between jonin sensei or the Raikage will become involved." Kakashi merely nodded and when the Kumo shinobi turned to gain the agreement from the Iwa pair Kakashi gave them a little wave as he departed.

There was a bit of a wait after the firm exam and then all the genin were gathered together. Kakashi and the other jonin were watching as the genin were given instructions. The Kumo proctor had to raise his voice so that all of the genin could be heard. Kakashi scanned the crowd. There were shinobi from Iwagakure, **Moyagakure** (Village Hidden in the Haze), **Yugakure** (Village Hidden in Hot Water), **Shimogakure** (Village Hidden in Frost), **Tanigakure** (Village Hidden in Valleys) and of course outnumbering them all was the shinobi from Kumogakure itself.

The proctor announced that the goal was to scale the mountain as quickly as possible. Each team would be spread out equidistantly around the base. The climb using the most direct route could be finished in less than two days. The peak of the mountain was beyond sight covered in clouds. "However this mountain has had thousands of traps set for you. Some are as simple as poisoned bear traps and some as complicated as barrier fuinjutsu. As you get higher you will have to deal with snow and avalanches are common. All the while you will be fighting against opposing genin teams. You can feel free to kill your opposition."

Kakashi thought the test was interesting. In the end it wasn't too different from the Forest of Death. The proctor continued, "The first eight teams to arrive will go on to the final round. If you fail to make it as an entire team that is acceptable however you will be at a severe disadvantage in the third and final test. Take your positions you will begin in one hour!"

Kakashi silently wished his team luck and turned to follow after the other jonin.

*****BREAK*****

The first exam was straightforward with none of the mind games they had heard about from the other rookies back in the Konoha chunin exams. But now the real conflict would be beginning. Their leaf headbands had caused them to standout and while they were waiting for the proctor to begin several teams from Iwa had started making threats.

"Konoha trash you're dead on that mountain."

"Maybe we should have some fun with the pink haired one first."

"Hell no if she's from Konoha she's probably diseased."

Sakura glared at the Iwa nin who made the last comment. The Iwa genin was a few years older and sneered at the pink haired girl. "My brother died fighting your sensei in the third shinobi war. I know I'm no match for him yet but I'll happily kill you and make him know my pain!"

Sasuke yawned, "Words are words, shut up and face us on the mountain."

Before the argument could continue the proctor began explaining the rules. After he was done team seven was taken to their starting position. It was a bit of a walk as there were a lot of teams still in the exam. When they finally reached it they had about 10 minutes to plan before the exam would begin.

Naruto spoke up first, "I say we teach those Iwa teams a lesson. No one talks to Sakura-chan that way!"

Sakura felt a little thrill of contentment spark within her. She didn't really care about the statements but the fact Naruto was willing to defend her honor meant something.

Sasuke however disagreed with the plan, "No we should avoid the Iwa teams."

Naruto clenched his fist, "What? Why?"

"We want Iwa teams to pass onto the third round. Iwa won't have any jonin or delegates observing the finals if they don't have any of their shinobi in it. Instead we should focus on thinning out Kumo genin and clear the path for Iwa."

Sakura agreed, "Sasuke is right we can always deal with the Iwa shinobi later." Naruto gave in. "All right I'll send my clones out to take down the other village's teams. We'll just go straight up with one set of clones trigging any traps, when they go down I'll just make more."

When the signal flared over head to begin Naruto made 30 clones and had ten put up a Henge to look like Sakura and the next ten like Sasuke. He sent groups straight up the mountain and to the right and the left.

Early on the going was fairly simple. There were some rather obvious traps that the clones would take the time to destroy so the real Naruto and team wouldn't get caught in them even though they really shouldn't considering how obvious they were. Parts of the mountain were not easy to hike up unless one had successfully learned the water walking exercise. The mountain was damp and slick so it wasn't quite as easy as walking on trees but for someone who had mastered water walking it was child's play.

Naruto clones engaged the first group of genin from Kumo and knocked them all out with ease. The pure speed in which the Naruto clones moved made it impossible for the genin to put up any real defense. Another set of clones ran across Iwa genin and ended up retreating from them to the sound of taunts and cries of "cowards."

The real team seven had an easy way up the mountain as the clones dealt with other teams on either side of them. The traps did become a little more lethal. Sakura wished she was nearby when on particular trap was triggered. The fuinjutsu trap was triggered by mere proximity and all that it did was send a pulse of chakra down the mountain. To a civilian the trap would have done nothing.

However to shinobi who were clinging to the mountainous face with their chakra it instantly dislodged them. One of the clones had dissipated when it quickly used some ninja wire and a kunai to control its fall, despite landing on its feet the force made it pop into smoke.

Naruto explained the nature of the trap to his team. Sakura was deeply curious on what kind of sealing matrix they had used and would be asking the Hokage the next time she saw him. Naruto took the time to create another 30 clones and had them scatter in all directions. Team seven was making great time when a pair of his clones popped which surprised Naruto.

The clones had fought a pair of Kumo teams who were working together. The clones had successfully knocked a few out but were then hit with a Suiton and Raiton combination attack that they were caught in the edges on. It would have only caused minor wounds on the real Naruto but since they were just shadow clones they dissipated.

The real Naruto received the memories and smiled, "Looks like not all of the competition are completely hopeless."

"Hnn we'll see."

Team seven at this point was ahead of everyone else and continued on even in the dark. The traps got a little worse as they incorporated Genjutsu as well but it was nothing team seven couldn't handle. The final trap was actually an avalanche that caused tons of snow to begin racing down the mountain. Team seven had a couple of options and elected to go with the brute force approach.

Naruto made a dozen clones and they began with **Futon: Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). A dozen gale force wind jutsu slammed into the descending snow. Snow was smashed away with tremendous force however more snow came down over it still heading for team seven's position. The real Naruto sent another **Futon: Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) that was combined with **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) from Sasuke that create a firestorm that melted a huge swathe of snow. All team seven had to suffer through was a wave of lukewarm water.

"I bet that was the last one," Naruto said. "Let's go up and beat the record." Team seven raced to the top and did in fact beat the record. It had not taken them two days it hadn't even taken them a full 24 hours. The proctor congratulated them and let them know they had to wait until the next seven teams arrived.

The three genin reviewed the information Naruto had gathered from his clones. Sasuke asked, "Any teams that could be a threat?" Naruto shook his head and yawned, "Not really. The frost nin that we met seemed to do really well in the snow, I'm betting they have a good Suiton user but other than that the competition was a bit light."

Sakura asked, "Were you able to observe all the teams?" Naruto shook his head, "No so I guess there might be some surprises. Kakashi-sensei is right to be cautious but as far as I can tell we'll be facing true genin." Team seven settled in and waited for the next teams to arrive.

*****BREAK*****

Team seven watched as the other team's made it through. The second team through was a Kumo squad. They were surprised to see the Konoha team waiting for them. No words were exchanged and they both waited on the next teams. The next team was from Iwa. Spotting the Konoha team they stalked toward them angry that the leaf shinobi had gotten their first.

"We looked for you out there but I guess you were too scared to fight." Naruto simply shrugged, "There is always next round lets save it for when we have an audience." The Iwa team grimaced but didn't start anything more. The next team to arrive was Yakata's team from **Shimogakure** (Village Hidden in Frost).

Team seven shared a friendly greeting and then had to wait for several more hours before the next teams arrived. The last four teams arrived one after another in quick succession. First another Iwa team, then a Kumo team then one from **Moyagakure** (Village Hidden in the Haze) and a final team from Iwa. Naruto shared a look with Sasuke, the plan had worked. Three teams from Iwagakure had made it into the finals.

The proctor arrived and explained that they would have one month to prepare for the final exams. The final exam would be a series of one on one combats fought by the teams. The team that was the latest to arrive would select their first champion and then the opposing team would then select their fighter. They will fight until one side wins and then the next match will begin. The losing team must pick their champion first and then the winning team can keep the same champion or replace it. Once a team has lost all of their team in this manner they will lose and their opposing team will move on to semi final match.

"This will be a test of your individual skill but also of your teamwork and planning. Not every shinobi is best suited for every situation. The brackets will be decided now by random drawing so you are allowed to research your opposing team and determine who would be best to fight against."

Team seven was rather blasé about the whole thing but paid attention to who they would be fighting. There were two Kumo teams, three Iwa teams, their own team and then a team from Haze and Frost. Their first matchup turned out to be against the team from Moyagakure. Two of the Iwa teams would face off against the two Kumo teams and the last Iwa team would go against Yakata's team. Naruto wondered if it had been truly random.

An angry Iwa genin demanded that they switch places with the team from Moyagakure. The proctor shut them up quickly much to Naruto's amusement. The proctor instructed them that there was to be no fighting prior to the match and that all teams would be watched. With those final instructions in place the genin were released. The jonin sensei from each team was waiting there for them. Kakashi gave them an eye smile, "I hear you broke the record, good work you three."

Sakura asked, "So what are we going to do here for a month?" Kakashi gave her an eye smile, "Train of course." Sasuke wondered exactly how they were going to train when they would always have eyes on them. The plan didn't call for their abilities to be discovered this quickly. Sasuke didn't say anything because he figured Kakashi had a plan.

Kakashi actually didn't have any sneaky plan that would take them away from the prying eyes of the Kumo spies. Instead he was just going to focus his team on taijutsu. The weight seals could be detected but not how much was being used. While he knew his team would be disappointed in not being able to focus their energies on their other specialties it never hurt to improve strength, speed and stamina.

*****BREAK*****

The Raikage reviewed the reports on Kakashi's team. In the room with him were Darui and Mabui. The Raikage finally spoke, "Have they done anything suspicious at all?" Darui shook his head, "No Raikage-Sama all they have done is train in taijutsu." Mabui read through another report, "Naruto is listed as a B ranked shinobi in Iwa's bingo book. He is quite skilled with Kage Bunshin and we can confirm that based on their performance in the second exam."

The leader of Kumo scowled, "He must have incredible chakra reserves to be able to create so many. Is it possible he is the kyubi jinchuuriki?" Mabui looked thoughtful, "Maybe but I can't see them using Suna and Sound's tactic against us. And it would be awfully risky to bring their jinchuuriki here in such a vulnerable venue.

The Raikage looked thoughtful and rumbled, "He bears the last name Uzumaki and we know Kushina Uzumaki was the previous host for the kyubi." Darui considered it and shrugged, "There isn't enough information to say one way or the other. It's possible but the Uzumaki were also known for their stamina and chakra reserves."

The Raikage slammed his fist on the table. "Then why are they here? Why send Sharingan no Kakashi with his genin team to our exam? They are vulnerable and exposed, why would they put the last Uchiha and Kakashi at risk like this?" The white haired kunoichi offered, "Perhaps they are looking to bolster their standing? Even with the destruction of Otogakure some may think Konoha is weak after the joint invasion. By bringing a strong genin team here that includes the last Uchiha they could be trying to reaffirm their strength across the elemental nations."

"Hmm there is something more going on I can feel it. Double the number of shinobi watching team seven. Inform me immediately if they do anything suspicious."

Darui bowed and left to attend to his orders.

*****BREAK*****

The first day of the chunin finals was the day Naruto Namikaze would be revealed to the world. The minimum number of matches in the team battles was 3 meaning best case scenario there would be twelve matches. Worst case scenario there could be five possible matches which would mean twenty matches during the day. Due to the potential number of bouts Kumo had their final exams spread through two separate days.

Naruto was very nervous as he put on his new clothing. The black and burnt orange jump suit had similar locations for pockets as his normal outfit did. The haori felt odd on him but looking in the mirror he did think it looked nice. 'I hope I am making you proud by doing this dad.' Sakura came down and looked at her teammate. "Wow Naruto you look great." Naruto smiled, he liked it when Sakura complimented him. His nerves steadied a bit.

Kakashi looked at his student and felt a sense of fierce pride well up in him. 'Minato-sensei I've done the best I can as his jonin instructor. I hope it was enough.' Out loud he said, "All right Naruto put on a Henge until we get to the exam location." Naruto nodded and performed the Henge to look like he normally did. Team seven headed out to the arena.

Kumo actually had a pretty impressive arena designed. It was centered in a shallow valley that was surrounded by buildings. The buildings were enclosed so the feudal lords, rich merchants and other important officials could watch in comfort. The constructed walls of the arena had fuinjutsu seals lining them of a simple variety but were effective barriers to stop all but the most destructive jutsu. Sakura found the design relatively simplistic and chakra inefficient but it would certainly do its job.

There was outdoor seating as well that shinobi and less well to do citizens of Kumo were using to watch the match. All 24 genin were led into the arena where the Raikage gave a speech about the purpose of the chunin exams. It wasn't exactly the same as the version Konoha used but it was similar enough that it made Naruto think they originated from one source. At the end of the speech they announced the names and the villages where they had come from.

The crowd was quite diverse. A large continent from Iwa had arrived since they had three whole teams. It was something of a rarity for a visiting village to have the most teams in the finals of a chunin exam. Kitsuchi had come in place of his father the Tsuchikage. Onoki did not like travelling due to his back issues. The powerful Doton user watched with pride as the genin of his village were announced.

Dignitaries from Haze and Frost were also in attendance and of course the nobles of the Land of Lighting were out in force. The crowd at the moment was in a generous mood and even applauded politely for the Konoha team. That was until Naruto Uzumaki was announced and Naruto spoke up in a clear voice free of all nervousness and doubt.

"Actually it is not Uzumaki, while my mother was Kushina Uzumaki that is not my clan name." This sparked some interest and some quiet murmuring among the crowd. Many thought Naruto might be a Yamanaka due to his blond hair. Naruto released the Henge he was under revealing his new outfit, complete with the haori with kanji of Naruto Namikaze written upon it.

"I wish to compete under my true name, Naruto Namikaze!"

Talk ceased in an instant. An eerie quiet fell upon the arena and the crowd. A pregnant silence gave birth to an explosive roar. Some loudly proclaimed their disbelief. Others made vows to kill the last Namikaze.

"He looks just like Konoha's Yellow Flash! He has to be that devil's child!"

"I'll kill him! I'll kill his whole team!"

"He's lying we would have known if the Yondaime Hokage had children!"

"Kill him!"

"Does he know that jutsu?"

"It makes sense his sensei was Minato's student!"

"Die yellow demon spawn!"

The last one amused Naruto to no end. 'They have no idea I hold the kyubi within me and I'm still being called a demon.' The only change in his expression was a small smile that enraged the Iwa contingent. One foolish genin even threw a kunai straight at Naruto. Naruto's hand blurred as he snatched the kunai out of the air and hid it up his sleeve making it seem to most of the genin and all of the civilians that he had just made it disappear.

The Raikage roared, "Silence! There will be no fighting except done during the exams!" The Raikage's echoing silenced the arena and cowed the Iwa genin into compliance. Kitsuchi quickly began writing in a scroll and handed it to one of his subordinates. "Send this to my father by hawk now!" 'The Yellow Flash has a son. Why did they reveal him here of all places? All of Iwagakure will demand his blood.'

With order restored the proctor called out the first match. It would be an Iwagakure team vs. one of the teams from Kumo. Naruto walked with his head held high, almost regal in appearance. He and Kakashi had talked about how he should portray himself in Kumogakure once his mask was dropped. He was not to indulge in his usual mannerisms; he wasn't to get into any verbal altercations. Instead he was to appear calm, cool and collected. A stable rock that would infuriate the Iwa shinobi.

Half of the eyes in the arena were upon team seven instead of the actual match itself. Naruto felt a bit bad about that because the matches were rather interesting. The Kumo team was proving the adage that a shinobi out of control was a shinobi who had already lost. The blood of the Iwa genin's was up and they were making foolish mistakes in their anger that their opponents were taking full advantage of. Soon enough Kumo had won the fight in a clean sweep.

Next up was team seven. The three genin moved to the waiting area which was in view of most of the crowd. As the team that had scaled the mountain the fastest the other team had to select the genin who would fight in the first round before they did. The Moyagakureshinobi who entered into the arena fighting area was a couple of years older than team seven. He was tall and had a large number of kunai covering his vest and belt.

Sakura was the selection made for team seven and she jumped into the arena with a relaxed smile on her face. Sasuke turned to Naruto, "This is going to be boring, up for a game of Shogi?" Naruto paused and pretended to consider for a moment before finally nodding. Meanwhile the crowd began to mutter angrily. The disrespect from the team was outrageous. Did they think so little of their opponents that they were just going to play a game while the match took place? One angry shinobi remarked, "Even if they don't think much of the other team they should at least watch their teammate!"

The angry murmurs and occasional shouts didn't deter the two young genin. They began one of their rehearsed games seemingly without a care in the world. In the ring Sakura's opponent gave her an evil leer. "I drew the short straw. My team thought you would start with Namikaze. The boy has us nervous but instead it's my lucky day and I get to gut you."

Sakura politely bowed in the face of the insult. She entered into a relaxed academy stance and the proctor signaled the fight to begin. The large genin charged forward throwing kunai with relatively impressive speed for a genin. Sakura deflected them all with her bare hands smoothly. The genin had a kunai in both fists and wind milled his arms rapidly stabbing downward with the kunai.

Sakura side stepped and lashed out with a powerful kick that snapped the genin's knee. He howled in pain but had the presence of mind to keep himself focused on his task. He threw the kunai at near point blank range at Sakura who slid around them like it was a dance. On one knee the teenager threw kunai after kunai with as much speed as he could. Sakura continued her graceful motion avoiding each and every one of the thrown projectiles.

The genin was out of kunai. In a rage he channeled his chakra into his good leg and pushed himself upward toward Sakura. As he got near he flashed through hand signs and began to use a jutsu but before he was able to Sakura had charged unexpectedly and delivered a vicious high kick to his stomach causing him to cough blood and interrupted his attack. While her opponent was still falling to the ground Sakura lashed out with a strike to the back of the neck knocking the outmatched genin unconscious.

The arena looked at Sakura with newfound respect. Many had thought a pink haired kunoichi would be a joke. It turned out that she was frighteningly proficient in taijutsu. Some of the shinobi in the crowd wondered if the girl was one of the bodyguards of such an important figure as Yellow Flash's son.

The Shogi game continued on as the next round of the battle would take place. Because Sakura won she returned to the staging area and the team from Moyagakure had to select the next fighter. In the Kumo exams winning was awarded and strength built up on strength. The next genin took to the field. She was a kunoichi with short cropped hair in a black body suit. The crowd waited anxiously for who Konoha would pick for the match. Some of the crowd were anxious to see the Namikaze while others were curious about the last Uchiha.

Instead Sakura went back into the arena while Naruto and Sasuke continued their Shogi match. Sakura gave a bow to her opponent and once again stepped into her ready stance. The enemy kunoichi immediately began a Genjutsu when the round started. Sakura didn't even need to flush the foreign chakra out of her system; she simply parsed it away from her senses. The kunoichi thought her opponent was under it and quickly threw a pair of senbon coated with poison. The senbon struck home only for Sakura to be replaced with one of the kunai used in the prior match.

The Haze nin gasped in surprise and turned to look where Sakura had gone to. She received a vicious barrage of punches to the mid section that knocked the wind of out her. Sakura followed it up with a leg a sweep and then pounced on the downed genin, kunai held at her throat. "Do you yield?" The kunoichi hastily yielded and just like that the 2nd match was over.

Sakura walked back to where her teammates were now moving on to the middle game. Sasuke glanced at his teammate, "We'll need to leave this area once you finish the third one off. I think I've finally got an advantage for once. Try to take your time please." Sakura resisted the urge to laugh and instead just said, "Hai."

The Raikage saw the two genin playing the game but could not make out what was going on in the board. "It looks like we won't get to see Minato's son in action today." Darui shook his head, "No Lord Raikage." The right hand of the Raikage looked down and asked, "What are we going to do about Namikaze?" The leader of Kumo pursed his lips and then answered, "Nothing for now. This is part of some plot by Konoha but it doesn't make sense yet. I wonder if that snake Danzo is behind this."

Darui looked a bit surprised and asked, "I'm not sure I follow." The Raikage looked at his aide and explained. "Danzo has desired to be the Hokage. It may even be plausible that he helped arranged the assassination of Hiruzen. If the son of the Yellow Flash were to die in a foreign country, killed by his enemies he could discredit Jiraiya and take him down." Darui considered the possibility but remained silent. The Raikage added, "I could be wrong. It is just a thought but whatever is going on I know this wasn't done a whim."

The Raikage and his aides turned back to watch the probable final match. For a third time Sakura entered the arena. Her final opponent was a shinobi who looked around her age. On his back he had two cylinder containers and tubes could be seen underneath his dark clothing. His face was bare to the world and he looked upset about the apparent ease it took to defeat his teammates. "I will not go down so easy." Sakura bowed and readied herself.

The Haze nin sprang forward once he was within three paces from Sakura he extended his arms and a jet of super heated gas pushed out from his arms. Sakura leapt backward avoiding the heat. Her opponent gave chase and this time Sakura used Kawarimi to get behind him about 20 feet away and threw a pair of kunai at the gas tanks on his back.

The genin dodged to the side and whirled back toward Sakura. She backed away from the boy allowing Naruto and Sasuke time to finish their 'intense' Shogi match. The Haze nin pumped out more and more gas desperately trying to tag her with it but Sakura was too quick on her feet to get caught. Finally the boy's gas tanks were empty.

Sakura waited for the boy's next move. He flashed through familiar hand seals, those of the first Katon jutsu Sakura learned. Sakura realized in an instant that the gas was still in the air, it had dispersed some but she was willing to bet that it was flammable. Sakura put on a burst of speed and as her opponent made the final hand sign she flashed behind him, the fireball ignited the gas on where she just was creating a spectacular firestorm. Sakura lashed out with a bone snapping kick to her opponents back and knocked him into the still burning air. He cried out in agony for a brief second and then the last vestiges of gas that still lingered in the tubing ignited turning him into a miniature fireball.

Sakura frowned a bit; she hadn't meant to kill him. She didn't feel particular bad about it however. His attack was definitely going to kill her if she hadn't moved. Sakura walked back to the waiting area where Naruto had taken the advantage in the game. The game wasn't done but Naruto had just pulled off a seemingly brilliant move. Sasuke grunted, "Hnn I was going to lose in the next 15 moves anyway, let's go." Naruto rose gracefully and walked back to the viewing area so the next team could fight.

The next match was the second Iwa team against the second Kumo team. This time the Iwa team did much better. The first round went to an Iwa Doton user who easily defeated his opponent. The next match his teammate lost but they put the Doton user again for the next two and they took the match. Their teammate was moderately wounded but could be patched up to fight the next day.

The Raikage saw Darui's eyes widen a fraction as he received a report from a chunin. The Raikage looked questioning over at his right hand shinobi. "The shinobi assigned to tail Kakashi's team were watching the game and wrote down the moves. They had it examined by a Shogi master… the game was near flawless." The Raikage had a thoughtful look on his face. Being skilled at Shogi was considered a sign of one's genius in strategic planning. The idea that two young genin were masters of the art was astonishing.

'Intelligence reports that the Uchiha boy is a genius. Those same reports pegged Naruto as the dead last in class. It was an obvious cover but the idea of genius like this striking twice in one generation is troubling. How does Konoha keep developing shinobi like Minato, Kakashi, the Sanin, Itachi and now these three?'

His musings were interrupted by the start of the team from Frost fighting off against the final Iwa team. As much as the genin deserved to be watched it was hard for the Raikage as well as the rest of the spectators to stop thinking about the powerful team from Konoha.

**AN: **I know I'm not consistent with using the Japanese name of a village followed by the English name in parenthesis. That is done purposefully, I do it a few times until people can easily figure out the village name and then I switch to just the Japanese. All of the major villages I assume people know.

Please review and let me know what you think!


	28. Chapter 27: Chunin Finale

**AN:** Wow thank you for all of the great reviews from the last chapter! This chapter is primarily build up and is rather anticlimactic after the big reveal in Chapter 26.

**Chapter 27:** Chunin Finale

The final team match of the day was coming up. The team from Shimogakure would face the third Iwa team. The winner of the match would be the one to face the team from Konoha. Team seven was ready to begin their humiliation of Iwa so they were actually rooting for the Iwa team to win. If it wasn't for their mission they would have supported the team from Frost simply because they were one of the few teams not to try to harass them.

Despite a valiant effort by the Frost team they were outmatched by the team from Iwa. The environment did not suit a Suiton user and Doton was the natural counter to Suiton. Still the Frost team managed to force one Iwa member to concede. It was a respectable showing and would probably be enough to have at least one of them promoted to chunin. It was a rarity in the first place to have minor villages make it to the third part of the exam.

Yakata collected her genin and brushed past Kakashi. "Good luck Kakashi-san, I'm going to be leaving now before the fireworks begin." Kakashi gave her an eye smile, "Your loss you are going to miss a great show." Yakata walked away and Kakashi listened in to the proctor announcing the next matches.

It would be Konoha against Iwa and the second Iwa team against the last Kumo team. Immediately after those two matches the last battle will take place. Kakashi's team nonchalantly strolled back to their home away from home while half a dozen Kumo shinobi escorted them to avoid any battle in the street.

That night thousands of messages were sent across the elemental nations. Spies of all the nations sent word of course, some through jutsu others threw bird and others pushed themselves to travel in person. This was momentous news – outside of another village being invaded there was nothing that could top this kind of information.

*****BREAK*****

That very night news arrived in Iwagakure. The Tsuchikage immediately called for his advisors despite the late hour. His bleary eyed granddaughter had been attending the discussions ever since she began pining after the old man's job so despite her tiredness she was also present. Onoki threw the letter on the table and said, "The Yellow Flash had a son and no one knew of this? How could you be so incompetent?"

"Forgive us Tsuchikage-Sama. No one knew a Namikaze still lived!"

Onoki resisted the urge to scatter his spy master's particles to the wind.

One of the clan leaders spoke up, "Failure aside we must act now. The brazen arrogance of the demon spawn must be answered. This is an outright provocation!"

Onoki considered the facts. Konoha had deliberately provoked them. They had to know that they would try to kill the son of their most hated enemy. So why put him at risk this way?

'They could be trying to assassinate my son. Kitsuchi is one of our most powerful jonin. Is Konoha trying to lure him into a trap to murder him?'

Onoki had been silent so another clan leader started to speak. Onoki shut him up quickly, "I'm thinking, QUIET."

'They must think they can kill him. Kakashi is a deadly assassin but my son is also quite powerful and he will have several jonin with him. Do they have additional forces lying in wait?'

The silence stretched on.

'I know this is a trap. Konoha would never risk their greatest hero's offspring without good cause. But even if I could tolerate his existence in this world I would have hundreds of shinobi abandoning their post attempting to hunt him down. Even knowing it's a trap I must fall for it.'

Onoki was the oldest Kage living. He was feared for his Dust Release but also for his vast experience on the battlefield.

'They want to murder my son? They want to kill my jonin? If I can't avoid the trap I must make them choke on their morsel!'

"In the next two hours I want one hundred shinobi squads ready to march. All must be at least chunin in rank. Send word to my son that after the chunin exams he is to delay the Konoha team but don't fully engage."

One hundred squads meant 400 shinobi. While the shinobi forces of each village numbered in the thousands a large chunk of the shinobi arsenal were not designed for direct combat. There was a large group of genin many whom took on non combat roles within the village. There were also specialists who worked in interrogation that never left the village. There were others who taught potential shinobi. Some served as medical specialists and others were scholars attempting to record jutsu and even create new ones.

Even in times of war outside of the most catastrophic occurrence a shinobi village was loathe to send anymore than half of their combat specialists away from the home they were sworn to protect. Four hundred shinobi most of whom would be combat specialists was an army. It could realistically destroy any of the minor villages with ease.

"Surely the boy isn't that dangerous," one of the advisors argued.

"It's an obvious trap. They want us to send Kitsuchi in and then their additional forces will attack. Instead we will spring the trap on them," the Tsuchikage declared. Everyone at the table was silent and they bowed to the will of the absolute ruler of Iwagakure.

"And Han is going with them."

*****BREAK*****

Team seven had celebrated the successful completion of the first part of their mission. They knew Kumo was watching closer than ever so they had remained mum about the next stage. In the morning they were escorted to the arena by a large block of Kumo shinobi. Sasuke smirked at them while the rest of team seven just fell in line.

When they arrived at the arena they realized that more seats had been hastily constructed. The arena as it had been built would not have been able to handle the influx of observers. It seemed like all of Kumo had turned out for the chunin exams and team seven knew they were the reason. More specifically Naruto Namikaze was the reason.

Their match would be against one of the two remaining Iwa teams. This time it would be Sasuke's turn to defeat their three opponents. The other team however had to make the selection first. The tall leader of the team shouted out, "Are you going to cower behind a woman Namikaze? Come out and fight me!" Naruto calmly ignored the taunt.

Sasuke stepped into the arena. "If you want to get to him you have to go through me." The Iwa shinobi glared with hatred at the Uchiha. He then stepped into the arena. "Fine you get to die first." Sasuke didn't even bother to get into a fighting stance he just kept his hands loose at his side. The match began and the Iwa shinobi started off with **Doton: Dosekiryu** (Earth Style: Earth Dragon). The jutsu was a dangerous one and a bit surprising for a genin to know.

However Sasuke had the Sharingan and had already encountered this particular jutsu. He knew how it would behave and knew exactly how long it would take for his opponent to finish the hand signs. Sasuke's hand blurred and he threw a pair of shuriken. The Iwa nin had just finished the jutsu as the shuriken pierced his throat. The earth dragon rose with a roar only to end abruptly as the chakra used to form it suddenly ceased to be.

'Pathetic he was so focused on his jutsu he didn't even notice the shuriken coming in until they were almost there.'

The Iwa spectators screamed out their rage. The Iwa genin who were up next against Sasuke were angry but they were also scared. The tall genin was the best ninjutsu user on the team and he was killed within the opening seconds of a fight! Sasuke smirked at them, "Scared?" That of course got their blood boiling as they denied it. The proctor told Sasuke, "You may return to the waiting area while the Iwagakure team selects their next participant."

Sasuke responded, "Regardless of who they pick I'm fighting so I'll stay right here." The proctor shrugged and Sasuke's next opponent stepped into the arena.

The teenager was a kenjutsu specialist and had two katanas held in his hands. "I won't be caught off guard Uchiha." Sasuke said nothing and the match began.

The kenjutsu specialist charged in to close combat blades striking out with some skill. Sasuke considered his options and launched a **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique). Of course the shinobi dodged the attack but in the instant where his vision was blocked by the fiery jutsu Sasuke sent shuriken whirling toward where the Iwa nin had dodged to.

At the last moment Sasuke's opponent deflected the shuriken with his blades. Sasuke smirked, "Not bad, if you weren't up against me you'd probably be promoted to chunin." Kakashi had allowed Sasuke some leeway in taunting but he feared the boy reveled in it a bit too much. The rock nin charged in again and this time Sasuke sped toward him. Sasuke dodged the first blade and then parried the second with his kunai. Using his superior strength he forced the blade away from his opponent's body and then brought down the kunai into the genin's chest.

The genin gave a cry of pain and dropped his blade. Sasuke twisted the kunai and ripped it out, allowing the blade to pass sideways through his opponent's torso. The dead genin gurgled, shuddered once and then lay still.

The Raikage saw the two quick battles and the boy's evident skill. "And the boy has yet to unlock his Sharingan, when he does he will be a force to be reckoned with." Darui looked up at his leader, "Our sensor shinobi believe he has unlocked the Sharingan and is using it during the battle. He must have some sort of covering over his eyes." The Raikage acknowledged his subordinates words and looked on as the last Iwa shinobi entered the arena.

Sasuke's last opponent entered into the arena. He had on winter clothing, heavily furred and bulky. Sasuke's Sharingan saw the reason for it. 'The little fool is looking to go out in a blaze of glory for his village.' The raven haired genin had detected the dozen explosive tags under the heavy clothing. His opponent was going to try to get close and detonate himself.

Sasuke used Kage Bunshin as soon as the match started. The Iwa opponent was now faced with two targets. One was hanging back while the second charged him. He would have to get past the clone before he could get near the real Sasuke. He shouted out, "**Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu"** (Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu). The genin popped up behind the 'real' Sasuke and detonated all of the seals taking Sasuke and himself out. His dying thoughts were that now his fellow Iwa team would have to deal with one less bodyguard before dealing with the Namikaze.

Of course the real Sasuke had been the one to charge so the now dead genin never realized he had killed himself to destroy a shadow clone. Sasuke chuckled as he walked back to his team. He had killed all three of his opponents just like Kakashi had asked him to. The crowds may have been there for Naruto but they would remember that the last loyal Uchiha had also fought today.

*****BREAK*****

The other semi-final match was Iwa against Kumo. Despite the Iwa team's focus and desire to face team seven in the finals they lost one of their genin. He would live but he would not be able to participate in the next match. The Iwa team had a skilled Doton user who was able to coat his entire body in rock that proved to be a formidable defense against the rest of the cloud genin. It was a battered but triumphant Iwa team that made it to the finals.

There was an intermission of one hour for the various nobles and important individuals to eat and make wagers on the outcome. After seeing Sakura and Sasuke in action the betting was not so much who would win but on other things. Would the Namikaze fight? Would he kill his opponents? How long would the bout take?

After the hour of waiting the two Iwa genin who were left knew they were at a disadvantage but that was fine as long as they got to fight the son of Iwa's greatest enemy. Naruto was a bit surprised to see how much hate was reflected in their eyes. He knew the history on how Minato single handedly turned an almost certain victory for Iwa in the war into a humiliating defeat. But this was a bit much.

'Hating me because my father beat them in a war they started is even stupider then hating me because kyubi was locked inside of me.'

He had his orders from Kakashi-sensei and he readied himself to carry them out. The genin who could encase his body with **Iwa no Yoroi** (Rock Armor) would be his opponent. Naruto entered into the arena and the crowd's roar reverberated throughout the valley. Some were cheering because the Namikaze was finally going to fight. Others were yelling jeers and taunts. Eventually both types quieted down as the proctor refused to start the match until he could be heard over the crowd.

The Iwa Nin had no words for Naruto and Naruto had none for him. The proctor began the match and the jinchuuriki's opponent encased himself with rock armor. Naruto used Kage Bunshin to create half dozen copies of himself.

The Iwa shinobi charged in for close combat. The clone he attacked easily dodged the blow. In an instant six Naruto's surrounded him and all of them shouted clearly, "Rasengan!" The swirling balls of condensed chakra then smashed into the Iwa genin. The rotating ball of pure chakra easily pulverized his rock armor. If he had just been hit by one the force would have powered through some of his armor and then sent him flying away, he probably could have survived.

However since he was hit at multiple sides he could not be thrown back. Instead the Rasengans tore through the rock armor and into the soft flesh and bone beneath. Blood splattered the clones and two of them dissipated from bone shards that had ricocheted out of the dead genin's corpse. Once more Naruto had silenced the massive crowd. The Rasengan was further proof of Naruto's parentage. Naruto thought that was a bit silly because other people could use the Rasengan but if it helped cement the image they were trying to convey that was fine.

The final Iwa genin stared daggers at Naruto and then raised his hand. "I yield." His jonin sensei and the rest of the Iwa contingent were furious. He barked back at them, "I'm not a fool; if I try to fight him he will kill me. I can serve my village better alive then dead." Kakashi eyed the genin and made a note to himself to watch for him in bingo books in the years to come. 'Or if they do bring him along when they attack us I'll make sure he dies. Smart enemy shinobi need to be cut down before they grow into their strength.'

The proctor shouted, "The chunin exams are over! Your village leaders will decide who is deserving of a promotion." The proctor said a bit more about exiting the arena and advised the Kumo citizens that the Raikage will make the chunin selections within the coming days. Kakashi smiled at his team, "Let's celebrate tonight and leave in the morning." Team seven could have left that day as there was still daylight but they wanted to give Iwagakure time. If Kakashi had a crystal ball that could see into Iwagakure he would have left immediately but without that actionable intelligence they were sticking with the plan as designed.

*****BREAK*****

The Iwagakure army made quick time as they raced to intercept their prey. Chunin and Jonin had been hastily assembled and were now determined to get to the Namikaze before he returned to his own land. The leader of the group was Juro Suzumori of the Suzumori clan. He was an elite jonin who had honed his clan's bloodline to a razor edge. The Suzumori clan had a blood line that was Iwa's version of tracking clans like Inuzuka and Hyuga. As long as they touched the earth they could feel the slightest vibrations from miles away. This made them almost impossible to ambush and allowed them to hunt down their targets easily. Even if the enemy jumped from tree to tree they could feel the vibration of the contact the tree had with the earth.

In made then excellent hunter nin and Juro was no exception. He had a long career of hunting down missing nin. The only black mark on his record was the failure to catch the mad bomber, Deidra. And that had much to do with the S ranked shinobi being able to create a flying construct. Hunting down and killing the last Namikaze would more than erase that failure. Almost his entire clan had volunteered for the mission however as the Suzumori clan head he had to think about the future and had only allowed half a dozen of its members to join in the hunt.

Han the jinchuuriki of Kokuo was in the squad behind him. Juro was confident they could rely on Han in the coming battle. Despite being a jinchuuriki and having hate filled eyes Han was obedient to the will of the Tsuchikage and fought with cold precision. He was their trump card in case the leaf had somehow hidden an army ready to spring an ambush.

Juro didn't think this was likely unless Konoha had made an alliance with Kumo. If that happened they were probably doomed anyway. That was highly improbable as the enmity between Kumo and Konoha had grown over the years.

While Han was the most powerful individual he was far from the only dangerous shinobi. Among the jonin there were skilled **Kuchiyose no Jutsu **(Summoning Technique) specialists. And since Sharingan no Kakashi specializing in Raiton jutsu they had brought Iwa's most skilled Futon specialist, Sanami. She had no bloodline or clan affiliation. However she was famous for her chakra control and skill with Futon manipulation that allowed her alter existing wind jutsu on the fly.

The Iwa shinobi had already sped through the lands near Takigakure. They had made only a slight detour to show the Takigakure forces they had no plans on invading. It wasn't so much of a fear of being defeated but more of being slowed down. On they raced and soon they entered into the newly reestablished **Ta no Kuni** (Land of Rice Fields). There they would rest and replenish their chakra and then continue on to their destination. The goal was to ambush them in the Land of Frost but if necessary they could strike in the Land of Hot Water. Under no circumstances could they allow their target to enter into **Hi no Kuni** (Land of Fire)

*****BREAK*****

In the morning team seven left Kumogakure. Their Kumo tails clung to them as they reached the gates of Kumo. There were four Iwa shinobi waiting for them. The three jonin sensei of the Iwa teams and Kitsuchi blocked team seven's path. The Kumo shinobi tensed and prepared to deal with fighting within their village.

Kakashi halted and asked in a mild voice, "What can I do for you Kitsuchi-san?" The son of the Tsuchikage waited a few seconds to answer before finally responding, "Do you want to prevent a war Hatake?"

"Hokage-Sama hates war so please do go on."

Kitsuchi looked around and said, "Too many eyes here, let's go to the restaurant over there and discuss this over a meal like civilized people."

'So they are trying to stall. We've already stayed here an extra day I'm not going to make it easy on them.'

"You can discuss this with my shadow clone but my team and I need to get moving." Kakashi made a single Kage Bunshin who gestured toward the restaurant.

Kitsuchi grimaced, "That is not possible. I will state my claim here and now then. Leave the Namikaze with us or you and your squad will die."

The three junior members of team seven didn't even blink. Kakashi gave Kitsuchi an eye smile, "Oh really? I should leave my sensei's son with his most hated enemy? I should the leave the child of the most celebrated hero of my village with you? I should leave _my _student with you? We are done here. If you want him come and take him."

A dozen Kumo shinobi descended around the opposing shinobi. The highest ranked one said, "There will be no fighting in our streets and there will be no fighting in **Kaminari no Kuni** (Land of Lighting). The Raikage will take it as a personal insult if battle occurs in the lands he has sworn to protect."

Kakashi bowed, "Thank you for your timely arrival. My team will not attack however we will defend ourselves if threatened. Perhaps if you were to entertain these fine individuals at the diner they had suggested we'd be happy to be on our way without any further trouble."

Kitsuchi growled out, "I'm not hungry anymore and we are leaving now."

The cloud shinobi ominously responded, "You have both been warned." They then all leapt away or used the shunshin to remove themselves from the area.

Both Iwa and Konoha shinobi left Kumogakure proper at the same time. The Iwa shinobi bristled with killing intent while the four Konoha shinobi ignored them completely. Kakashi gave off an ease of bored indifference to the Iwa shinobi who were next to them but he kept a sharp eye on Kitsuchi. The man's skill with Doton jutsu made him a dangerous opponent. 'My team is outwardly clam but I know they are anxious to get started. When will you strike I wonder? Will you take Kumo's warning seriously and wait to attack until we have left Lightning country?' Kakashi saw advantages both situations but for now the ball was in Iwa's court. Regardless of when they chose to strike team seven would be ready.

**AN: **Naruto only had one fight because it seemed more realistic that a team would have some casualties before making it to the final round. I also wanted the one Iwa genin using his brain to show that not all Iwa shinobi were dumb as rocks. (Heh get it?) Readers – do you have any ideas on would be appropriate summons for Iwa? Looking at the summons list for Konoha I see a huge variety. Dogs, toads, turtle, slugs, snakes and monkeys. On the Iwa side I see… bees. Surely they have to have more they just haven't had screen time. I'll take the best suggestions you put out in reviews or PM and run with them.


	29. Chapter 28: Clash

**AN:** Thank you for all the great ideas on Iwa summons! I've presented two here but there will be at least one more in the following chapter.

**Chapter 28:** Clash

Shortly after they left the gates of Kumogakure Kakashi gave the signal to Naruto and Sakura. Five minutes later Naruto used Kage Bunshin to create 40 clones. Thirty of them immediately used a Henge to appear like his comrades. Now there were a total of one original and 10 copies of each member of team seven.

The Iwa shinobi tensed ready to fight if necessary. The groups of team seven clones weren't interested in fighting, instead they dispersed in every direction exception towards the village they had just left. Kitsuchi and the other Iwa jonin kept a firm eye on the original group. One of the jonin with him said, "You think you can fool us like that Konoha scum? All of you move differently and your chakra is different. This might fool genin or chunin but it would never fool us.

Kitsuchi narrowed his eyes and then popped them open. "KAI!" The subtle Genjutsu Sakura had weaved had dissolved and Kitsuchi realized they were with clones not the real team seven. The jonin who had spoken cursed at having been tricked.

None of the Iwa shinobi were sensory types however they were jonin which meant they were very observant. The idea of all of them falling prey to even a very subtle Genjutsu that only changed things slightly was dangerous. Kitsuchi then realized exactly when the Genjutsu had struck. 'The Genjutsu was used when the Namikaze made his shadow clones. The influx of chakra all around us helped hide the presence of the Genjutsu chakra within our own network.' Kitsuchi admired the level of coordination that had taken.

Kitsuchi made a pair of mud clones and shouted to his comrades, "Spread out and find them – they aren't going to fight us in Lighting Country but we need to find the real ones!" One of the jonin sent a specific series of pulses of chakra into the ground that Kitsuchi's chunin aide still in Kumo would sense and then relay information by hawk back to Iwagakure with an update.

Team seven had successfully evaded their immediate tails. They moved at moderate speed toward the Land of Frost. The Iwa contingent was more than just the four jonin they had encountered and they weren't sure exactly where they were. The dignitaries from the Land of Earth had bodyguards that would be predominantly made up of chunin. While the nobles may be loathe to give up their hired guards if it meant helping their nation end the Namikaze line, most would be willing.

And even if not Kakashi knew there would be Iwa observers at the border. Once they were in the Land of Frost the Raikage's demands would be null. And once outside of the Land of Lightning team seven could proceed in thinning out the Iwa forces.

*****BREAK*****

Tsunade's squad had received word a massive army was on the move from Iwagakure. Tsunade relayed the information Gai, Shibi and Tenzo. Shibi processed the information and frowned, "The number of shinobi being sent is concerning. Shikaku believed they would send their hunter nin, perhaps a few of their more powerful elite jonin, not an army." Tsunade pursed her lips, "That's why we are here to act as backup."

"We don't have any intelligence on who they are sending. For all we knew the Tsuchikage himself could be going with them."

Tsunade didn't think that was likely. It was rare for a Kage to personally involve themselves in battle. Too many had fallen on the field and it was very disruptive to the village. Typically it was only done in the most extreme situations either on the defensive or to fully complete one village's victory over another.

Tsunade asked, "Unlikely but what is your point?"

"We should call off the mission. Tell team seven to go to ground and hide. Avoid engaging the enemy and send for reinforcements.

Tsunade shook her head, "Konoha has yet to recover and we cannot escalate. If team seven hides and we bring an army Iwa will bring even more forces and we will turn this land into a battle ground of ever increasing size. No we will stick to the plan. Kakashi's team fought against Orochimaru they are stronger then you think."

The Aburame disagreed with the tactical analysis but he wasn't in charge. "As you say Lady Tsunade, what should we do then?"

"We wait until Kakashi signals that he needs us. Until then we stay hidden and avoid exposure."

Gai gave a thumbs up, "We will be ready to showcase our youth when they call!"

Tenzo silently agreed with his boisterous comrade. Kakashi-senpai had saved his life numerous times; he would return the favor if at all possible.

*****BREAK*****

The weather was growing colder as team seven neared the border. Kakashi turned to his three pupils, "Are you ready?"

"Hai Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi smiled underneath his mask as his team officially crossed over into the Land of Frost. Naruto created another 40 clones that scattered along the edges of the border.

Team seven quickly set up several shinobi traps. Relatively simple items, buried explosive tags that would be activated by pressure, a few trip wires and even something as mundane as a snare. Genjutsu was added to make them harder to detect. And then team seven hunkered down to wait.

Naruto received memories of some popped clones. He grinned first blood had gone to Naruto. The Iwa shinobi that had been in Kumogakure had attacked a group of his clones. It was a group of five foolish chunin and they had been massacred by his clones. Only two clones had been defeated by Doton jutsu that disrupted the earth to an extent that the crashing rocks had grazed the two clones. 'Shadow clones are great but they sure are fragile,' Naruto thought to himself. He relayed the information to his team.

His clones had less luck against the group of jonin from Iwa. Kitsuchi had attacked the group first using **Doton: Dochubaku** (Earth Release: Underground Explosion). The earth between Kitsuchi and the clones exploded in a line. All of the clones avoided serious injury however taking even a minor injury dissipated them. Two clones were down and Kitsuchi followed up with **Doton: Kengan no Jutsu** (Earth Release: Fist Rock Technique). His entire arm was covered in rock and it raced toward one of the clones at top speed. The Naruto clone ducked the blow and slashed out with his katana slicing deep into Kitsuchi. Unfortunately for the Naruto clone his opponent was actually a rock clone that shattered into pieces when the blade struck and he was not able to avoid the debris.

The last Naruto clone used **Futon: Shinkugyoku** (Wind Release Vacuum Bullets) but had it blocked by a hastily constructed mud wall. The Naruto clone raced forward and used Kawarimi to get behind the wall and fired another **Futon: Shinkugyoku** (Wind Release Vacuum Bullets) but again the mud wall came up and the clone ran out of chakra.

Naruto informed his team, "Kitsuchi and the Iwa Jonin are about half a mile away. They might be Rock and Mud clones though. Kitsuchi is really fast with his Doton jutsu, be cautious." The team readied themselves while Naruto made some additional clones. However the Iwa shinobi did not attack. A few hours stretched by and Kakashi said, "Hmm looks like they aren't that eager. They must be waiting for reinforcements. Head for the second position, Naruto leave some clones here."

Sasuke grimaced. His senses were on the razor edge and he was dying to actually fight something. The waiting was killing him. Team seven moved on to the next position and settled in to wait. Kakashi had Sakura and himself take a quick power nap with firm instructions to wake them in two hours of if someone happened by.

In those two hours nothing happened. As the team prepared to continue on Sasuke said, "Let's go on the offense then! Fight when we want to and not when they get around to doing it." Kakashi shook his head, "That could be what they want. Their actions imply that they are waiting for reinforcements we'll want to be fresh for when the Iwa kill teams arrive."

They began traveling to their next suitable location when Naruto suddenly cursed. "About an hour away we have about fifty Iwa shinobi heading our way. One matches the description of Han the jinchuuriki of the five tails." Kakashi's eye widened, "Dangerous be very careful if we engage him. He can at the minimum do a partial transformation."

Sasuke grinned, "Finally some real action."

Kakashi called a halt. "All right we'll set up a defensive position here. We'll set up a normal trap and Genjutsu formation. Sakura distribute the scrolls to Naruto's clones. Sasuke and I will each make a pair of Kage Bunshin to go with 30 Naruto clones. We'll hit the enemy using the fuinjutsu scrolls you've prepared Sakura. That should thin them out some."

"You three better give me a good account on which scrolls worked best! I've spent hours and hours on these things so you better use them right," Sakura warned. Naruto created his 30 clones and they were each given a scroll by Sakura. She had a pair for the two Kakashi and two Sasuke clones as well. Kakashi gave final instructions, "Remember you are just clones – do as much damage as you can don't worry about survival." The clones headed out and team seven settled in to wait.

*****BREAK*****

Juro Suzumori had split his forces. With him were 15 squads, the tip of the spear. He had sent another 15 squads toward the Land of Hot Water. The rest of his army was nearby when he felt the tremors in the ground. 'I sensed a shinobi and then it disappeared. A shadow clone and then I heard 4 pairs of footsteps turn into 34. I've pinpointed them and it looks like they have found us too.'

He quickly gave orders and readied his squads for battle. Signals were sent to the main bulk of his forces. He sent orders to the group who had gone toward the Land of Hot Water to hold position to cut off any retreat. A third group of 15 squads would head north and encircle where the enemy truly was and the rest of the 200 shinobi would reinforce his spear tip.

Juro didn't have long to wait as the enemy was heading for his fifty shinobi with good haste. His forces didn't have much rest but soldier pills meant all of them were at peak efficiency after their run. The first clones stopped at a ridge and Juro signaled the Iwa shinobi to blow it apart with Doton jutsu. Half a dozen clones were dissipated when the ridge disappeared with earth and stone scattering all different directions. A few of the clones shielded themselves with **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm).

The first squad that engaged after the Doton barrage threw kunai with explosive tags attached. In response prior to immediately striking a clone unfurled a scroll that thrust an extremely potent wind that blew away the incoming kunai. From within the scroll scores of kunai flashed back toward the first squad's position.

A hastily used **Doton: Doryuheki** (Earth Release: Mud Wall) was a fraction of a second too slow to stop the lead set of kunai. As a result one of the chunin took a kunai that pierced straight through his flak vest and into his shoulder. Other squads began to engage while Juro analyzed the opponent's attacks. Han was about to go in but Juro held up his hand to hold him back.

A Naruto clone used shunshin to appear next to a squad. The squad had two jonin and the clone was struck down in quick order. The clone had a katana in one hand that had been parried and in the other it was holding a scroll. As soon as the clone dissipated the scroll that was being held shut shot open and exploded with tremendous force. The blast was twenty times the size of a normal exploding tag and had metallic shrapnel included that severely injured one of the jonin.

This repeated itself once more with an explosion against another squad. And then a third kamikaze clone had a scroll that sprayed out acid that even ate through rock, to say nothing of what it did to flesh. Juro scowled and sent in the jinchuuriki. The scrolls were dangerous to his shinobi but not to someone like Han. He called out orders, "Use clones and long range attacks to deal with them, avoid close combat."

Steam flowed out of Han's armor as he charged in. A clone of the last Uchiha charged at the jinchuuriki of Iwa. The Sasuke clone flipped through hand signs and used, **Raiton: Shichu Shibari** (Lighting Release: Four Pillar Bind). Han however felt the chakra building up and put on an additional burst of speed and the attack missed. The Sasuke clone with its Sharingan enhanced vision was able to avoid the first two blows from his red armored opponent.

Juro called out a warning to the left flank of his shinobi. The warning came just in time as a Kakashi clone burst out of the ground flinging kunai in all directions. The warning saved his comrades but didn't stop Kakashi from following up the surprise attack with a rush at the weakest opponent his Sharingan could perceive. A chunin medical shinobi was quickly cut down as the Kakashi clone annihilated him in close combat before leaping away from a **Doton: Doryuso** (Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears).

More Naruto clones unleashed hails of kunai on the Iwa shinobi though they failed to do much damage now that they expected those types of attacks. Juro felt three clones go wide around to the right flank and he signaled them. A Naruto clone rushed in avoiding an Earth Dragon and several kunai. Ten feet away from the Iwa shinobi the clone unfurled his scroll and toxic gas flowed out toward his targets. The two extra Naruto clones both launched **"Futon: Daitoppa"** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) pushing the toxic gas into the middle of the formation.

Meanwhile Han had just finished off the Sasuke clone whose only consolation prize was hitting the jinchuuriki with **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) that had done little to no damage. The Kakashi clone was eventually taken down by sheer numbers but not before fatally wounding another chunin.

A second Kakashi clone dissipated itself after using **Raiton: Jibashi Daino** (Lightning Release: Massive Electromagnetic Murder)that let loose with a large area burst of lightning that severely wounded a dozen shinobi and outright killed three. To compound matters those severely wounded could not get out of the way of the toxic gas and a few more ended up falling prey to it.

The Suzumori clan leader looked around in disgust. 'Nothing but clones and I've taken 30 casualties, a dozen of which are dead or too wounded to be of further service.' To add to his annoyance he felt another 30 clones be created and were heading for their position. The bulk of his army was arriving and as of yet his targets had not left their current location. "More clones are coming, this time be prepared for their tricks. Fresh squads are coming they will move past us and engage with our real enemies."

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi looked at his team. "We've got a bit of a problem; Juro Suzumori is the one hunting us." Naruto knew the name as he had memorized all the bingo books, "He's the guy that can sense footsteps right?" Kakashi nodded, "He'll be hard to fool. Based on what my clone observed I believe there are a lot more enemies than we expected. I'm going to send the signal up for Tsunade's squad to be ready to intervene."

Kakashi threw a modified Katon jutsu into the air that burned with red light. "We are going to engage them here but be ready to retreat if I give the signal." Naruto prepared another 40 clones for battle and then made ready to use his summoning jutsu once the enemy was close by. Sakura went over the Genjutsu she was planning on using in her head. Sasuke was ready to push himself. His clone had been defeated rather easily by the jinchuuriki. He wasn't going to allow for a repeat occurrence.

The enemy was closing in and they had learned from the previous clash. They led the way with Han who could shrug off all but the most dangerous attacks and a variety of mud and rock clones. Naruto looked unnerved toward Kakashi, "They will be here in minutes… and its way more than 50! They have over 200 shinobi incoming."

Kakashi was caught off guard by the sheer number. 'They must have really hated you sensei.' Kakashi ordered a dozen of Naruto's clones to retreat south and make sure they had a clear path toward where their backup squad should be. And then the first wave of Iwa shinobi was upon them. The first wave was made up of clones and they triggered most of the traps.

Naruto bit his thumb and accessed the kyubi chakra. "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" **(Summoning Technique). A massive chakra cloud rose and as it cleared Gamabunta appeared. Naruto waved hello quickly before creating some distance to repeat his summoning twice more to summon the full complement of battle toads. Gamabunta asked, "Hmm who are we going to be fighting now kid?" Naruto smiled "Oh about two hundred Iwa shinobi…"

Opposite the battle field the Iwa shinobi saw the three massive toads appear. Juro signaled the **Kuchiyose **(Summoning) specialists to take action. Massive summons required enormous chakra reserves. Only rare shinobi could summon the likes of Manda or Gamabunta by themselves. For the Iwa shinobi they had a team of three who had signed the bear contract and they each contributed their chakra to the summoning.

Juro watched with satisfaction as Maru the Bear King was summoned. The growl from his throat reverberated across the battlefield. "This had better be good!" The head summoner bowed, "Maru-Sama our foe is the heir of our greatest enemy. He has summoned the chief of Mount Myoboku. The great bear growled again. He stood on his hind legs the way the great toads did. Strapped across his back was a massive club almost as large as he was. His fur was black and coarse expect on his right shoulder where a large burn scar prevented it from growing. In a bestial but commanding voice he agreed, "A worthy foe!"

The second group had four shinobi in it and they pooled their chakra together to summon Atratus the Dark Vulture. The creature was about half the size of Maru and the toads but it was also airborne which gave the four Iwa shinobi a platform to reign down attacks from above. The vulture was also a master of Genjutsu and could trap its targets in a nightmare world of death and entropy.

Gamabunta went to face off against Maru. The Iwa shinobi ripped apart the ground from beneath the three great toads with their Doton jutsu. Off balance Gamabunta was barely able to catch the massive club in his hands before it smashed into his torso.

Gamaken fell over and groaned, "I told you I was clumsy." Gamahiro on the other hand pushed away from the Doton cracked ground and charged into the Iwa lines.

Naruto clones raced over to Gamaken to protect him while he was off his feet. Other clones opened their scrolls and let loose barrages of high speed kunai. The Iwa shinobi charged forward eager to kill the Namikaze. The real Naruto drew his specially made katana and charged a trio of Iwa shinobi near him. The first attempted to dodge his strike but misjudged Naruto's full speed and was sliced in two. One of the two drew their own katana and lashed out while the other threw shuriken. Naruto deflected the shuriken, parried the first two attacks and then launched his own. The Iwa shinobi had his blade in a perfect block stance. Naruto pushed chakra into his blade as he struck instantly slicing through steel and dealing a mortal blow to his opponent. A samurai would have cried foul at the rather underhanded method of winning the kenjutsu duel but to a shinobi winning through trickery was always appropriate.

Before Naruto could deal with the third opponent a massive **Doton: Dosekiryu** (Earth Release: Stone Dragon) slammed into his position and required a quick retreat. Another followed in its wake and Naruto was hard pressed to get away. Suddenly the attack stopped as the Iwa shinobi cheered. Naruto saw an image of his own bloodied and dead body on the ground and silently thanked Sakura for her Genjutsu.

It didn't fool the Iwa shinobi long and after a couple of seconds the Genjutsu was broken. Sakura however had two purposes for the Genjutsu. Primarily it was to save Naruto however secondly it was to see who was resistant to Genjutsu and who was vulnerable. Sakura signaled Sasuke who blurred toward the Iwa shinobi Sakura had pointed out. Sakura used an enhanced version of called **Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu** (Demonic Illusion – Hell Viewing Technique) to trap four Iwa shinobi in an image of their worst nightmare. They died still trapped in that nightmare as Sasuke cut their throats.

A dozen Iwa shinobi went after Sasuke. All of them were at least chunin rank and several were jonin. Sasuke blocked a taijutsu strike to his face, broke his opponent's wrist and then threw him in the direction kunai and more Iwa shinobi were charging in. Their view partially obscured by the flying shinobi, Sasuke sped through the hand seals for **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu"** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) and launched it at the charging Iwa shinobi.

If those were had been his only opponents it would have worked however a mud wall stopped the fireball in its tracks. Another Doton user raised earth spears from the ground and Sasuke had to leap away. Mid air he was the target of thrown kunai, several of which had exploding tags attached. Sasuke quickly used Kawarimi but not before one of the exploding tags detonated burning his left arm. Unsteady from the hit while in the midst of the substitution jutsu Sasuke stumble and rolled to the ground.

Standing up his Sharingan enhanced vision allowed a narrow dodge of a **Retsudo Tenshin** (Mud Needle). A pair of Naruto clones took the heat off of him and allowed him to recover from the barrage of non-stop attacks. 'Hnn I'm better than them but they are hitting me from too many directions I can't finish one off without leaving myself open.'

Kakashi saw everything going on with his Sharingan and was using the chaos to his advantage. Through skilled application of shunshin, Kawarimi and his preternatural levels of stealth he was showing Iwa just why he was one of the legends of the Third Shinobi War. He had even fooled the Suzumori clan by taking a running leap in one direction, creating a mid air Kage Bunshin, leaping off of said Bunshin and letting the Bunshin step where he would have.

'If was just me and him he probably could have sensed it but even he must be tasked with the hundreds of clones, jutsu and shinobi everywhere.'

Kakashi had executed a dozen Iwa shinobi with practiced efficiency. Naruto's clones however were dying swiftly. Han was actively seeking out the real Naruto and the clones could do little to slow him down. Kakashi felt the beginnings of a Genjutsu taking hold of him and was surprised by the sheer power of it. It was very likely that absent his Sharingan he would have succumbed to the momentary vision of his fleshing rotting away. 'Stupid bird, I guess summons don't read bingo books.'

The other unfortunate part of their situation was that they weren't killing their Iwa foes very fast. Gamaken had finally stood up but was battling multiple jonin who were slowly wearing him down. Gamabunta wasn't losing his battle with Maru but he wasn't winning either. Gamahiro was dealing with a pair of massive golems created with **Doton: Goremu no Jutsu** (Earth Release: Earth Golem Technique). Kakashi knew the battle was not going in their favor. Naruto summoned another batch of clones that were trying to hold back the tide but they didn't have time to pick up the fuinjutsu scrolls that made them so much deadlier.

Kakashi put on a burst of speed and knocked an Iwa jonin away while dodging earth spears and mud bullets. He ended his sprint behind Maru and gathered chakra around his eye. The massive king of bears may have felt the chakra build up but he was too focused on his battle with the toad chief. Kamui was unleashed on the back of the gigantic summon. It began to twist him out of this world when he fought back with a snarl. This proved to be quite painful for Maru.

Kamui exerted a force that was nearly impossible to hold back. The bear planted his feet in order to push off and away from the sudden force pulling him and that second was costly. Maru roared and with a triumphant surge leapt away from the pull… leaving behind huge chunks of his spine and flesh. The massive bear fell and moaned once before lying still. The scene shocked the Iwa shinobi.

Once a summoned creature became wounded enough they returned to their own land. But if one died outright there was no return, their corpse remained where it had fallen. Sharingan no Kakashi had just executed Iwa's greatest summon. The demoralizing impact was immediate. Kakashi signaled his team to retreat during the confusion.

Not all of Iwa had stopped in its tracks at the sight but enough had that team seven was able to disengage from their immediate opponents. Juro began giving orders as he charged toward Kakashi. He drew his tanto and rushed Kakashi. After killing Maru, Kakashi had let out a burst of killing intent designed to further frighten and intimidate Juro's army. Juro knew he had to do something. Juro's ability to sense other shinobi through vibrations wasn't the only reason he was feared. Without weaving a single hand sign earth rose up around Kakashi who dodged away from it.

Juro clashed tanto against kunai with Kakashi. The surrounding shinobi watched in awe as their duel began. A couple of shinobi tried to assist but Kakashi manipulated the battlefield in a way that they caused more harm than good. Kakashi held the edge in taijutsu due to the Sharingan however Juro's use of the earth around to shield and attack almost rivaled the late jinchuuriki of the Ichibi.

Nearby Gamabunta stomped a pair of Iwa shinobi too slow in escaping the massive toad. Explosive tags rained around his eyes blinding him. Sharp earth spears thrust into his feet pricking them badly. Still slightly blind he lashed out with several **Suiton: Teppodama** (Water Release: Gunshot) one right after another.

Kakashi's students withdrew, Naruto threw out clones who were using **"Futon: Daitoppa"** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) to slow down pursuit. For the most part it was effective. A few dogged Iwa shinobi were able to go underground with their Doton abilities but most couldn't handle gale force winds and match the speed of team seven. The exception of course was Han who shot steam out of his armor and ignored the Futon jutsu like it wasn't even there.

Sakura attempted a Genjutsu but Han shrugged it off. Naruto threw one of his chakra enhanced kunai but Han chose to dodge that one even though he ignored all the other thrown projectiles he had been subject to. Naruto looked worriedly at his companions, this wasn't good. Their opponent seemed indomitable and intelligent. Naruto's worries were disrupted by his body suddenly stumbling. As he looked on with horror he saw his skin turning dark and flaking away.

Sakura and Sasuke had seen Naruto fall and Sakura shouted, "Genjutsu! It's the bird." Sakura and Sasuke skidded to a halt and raced back the other way. The Iwa shinobi in the air rained down projectiles at their paralyzed foe. Sasuke was too far away to intercept them so he threw kunai and shuriken to deflect them. Even with his advanced sight he couldn't stop every single one and Sakura cried out as a kunai buried itself into Naruto's calf.

Sakura slid next to Naruto and forcefully disrupted the Genjutsu with her own chakra. The illusion broke and Naruto felt the pain in his calf. Naruto tried to stand and the leg buckled under him. Han had cleared the clones and was now right on top of them. Sakura helped Naruto get to his feet. Sasuke saw Han approach and cursed. The Uchiha gathered chakra into his hand and the sound of birds filled the air.

Han was unimpressed and charged forward. Sasuke ran towards him and when he was within ten feet he pushed the chakra forward using **Chidori** **Eiso** (Chidori Sharp Spear). The lance of pure lightning chakra caught the jinchuuriki off guard and he wasn't fully able to get out of the way. The lightning pierced his armor along the shoulder eliciting a grunt of pain, the first vocal sounds he had made during the battle. The jutsu was spent and Sasuke wasted no time in pressing his advantage.

Sasuke attacked Han in close quarters with a kunai. Han was injured and only had one arm available to him. This meant the fight was more or less equal as the more experienced and stronger shinobi was pushed back by the Sharingan and his injuries. Sasuke attempted a killing blow but his opponent was quite resilient despite getting cut and stabbed the Sasuke' kunai.

Naruto made some more clones to try to deal with the other Iwa pursuers on the ground however they would all also have his wounded leg. They would be hampered but they were better then nothing. Sakura hastily handed out more sealed scrolls. A few clones aimed their massed kunai scrolls upwards toward the Dark Vulture however the creature flapped its wings and the kunai were swept away.

Sasuke's battle took a turn for the worse when he got in too close to Han who did something with his armor that blasted super heated steam out. Sasuke's Sharingan saw the steam erupt and tried to flinch back but he wasn't fast enough and was scalded badly. Han exploited his advantage to go in for the kill only for Naruto to lash out with a **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). Han was unmovable as ever however Sasuke was not and he flew away from the potentially lethal steam enhanced punch.

Naruto saw Sasuke recover in mid air and land safely and looked at Sakura, "Time to let the cat, or in this case the fox out of the bag." Sakura rolled her eyes at the bad joke but nodded in agreement. By accessing the kyubi chakra it would heal his leg and give them a fighting chance. Naruto wasted no time in pulling the nine tailed chakra into his body and soon his body was surrounded by tainted chakra. His birthmarks grew thicker and his eyes slowly turned red.

In an instant every shinobi worth their salt in a 10 mile radius felt the chakra of a tailed beast. Han's eyes widened in surprise. He had not been aware he was fighting another of his kind. The Iwa shinobi including Juro were shocked. Was this the reason that the Konoha shinobi were so confident? That the Namikaze had a jinchuuriki bodyguard? Juro was trying to process the weight of the Konoha jinchuuriki through the earth when Kakashi released a scroll that nearly killed him when it exploded with devastating power. Quick reflexes and a chakra hardened earth dome saved his life and he sensed Kakashi rush toward the demonic chakra.

Juro got back to his feet slowly; his muscles and chakra were drained. For all his skill he knew he wasn't as powerful as Kakashi. He had managed a draw for a short period of time against the legendary Konoha shinobi however if it had gone on longer he would have lost. Naturally Juro had known this and had been prepared to withdraw while multiple jonin covered his retreat, in the meantime it would further deplete Kakashi's chakra and stamina.

Juro watched Kakashi speed through his allies using the great battle toads as cover. Some had tried to stop him but were unsuccessful, only Kakashi's single minded purpose had prevented some of them from suffering death. Juro received reports from his squads. The shinobi he had sent north had rendezvoused with Kitsuchi and would arrive soon. The shinobi in the south under the command of Sanami were moving to cut off the retreat of team seven. However team seven had now been tied up by Han and the leading elements of the pursuit teams. Even though they had suffered a devastating blow with the loss of Maru they were in a good position to win the battle. Kakashi did not have infinite reserves and whatever that jutsu was that allowed him to kill the great bear had taken enormous amounts of chakra.

The three battle toads were also all wounded to one degree or another and the large toad wielding the Sasumata had already returned back to his home. Gamabunta was a problem but blood covered his lower legs and feet as Doton jutsu after Doton jutsu ripped up from the ground to assault him. It would not be long before he fell too. Gamahiro had dispatched the rock golems but was having difficulty peeling off a trio of jonin who had leapt atop him and started stabbing into his body. Juro was glad he had planned for the possibility of the toads being summoned. Kitsuchi and the northern contingent would arrive soon as well. With fresh troops they would surround and eliminate the four shinobi they were hunting.

'Kakashi you are the mighty dragon that will be brought down by the swarm of ants. You will not be able to protect the Namikaze. This is where your legend ends.'

*****BREAK*****

Tsunade's squad had seen the red flare like jutsu fired by Kakashi and had started to move stealthily and silently toward the predetermined retreat point for team seven. When they suddenly sensed the kyubi's chakra flare up they abandoned all pretense of stealth and ran at top speed toward the chakra.

Shibi quickly launched a messenger hawk to the secondary support squad in the Land of Hot Water. It would take them at least half a day to arrive. Shibi didn't know of the disposition of team seven however if they could pull off a fighting retreat the additional Konoha shinobi could swing the tide. The Aburame was deeply worried about what had transpired. Naruto using the kyubi chakra was a signal something had gone wrong.

After using a significant amount of kyubi chakra Naruto was almost always completely drained of his normal chakra. It was not something that was to be used if there was another choice – Naruto's stamina and ability to keep creating clones had been key to a number of strategies Kakashi and Shikaku had devised.

The others were also worried. Gai's eternal rival was fighting for his life as were a number of his most youthful genin. He had the urge to rush ahead of the rest of the squad but Tsunade had been clear that wasn't going to be in the cards. As it was he was pushing at a pace that only Tsunade could keep up for any length of time.

Tsunade was over her fear of blood but this would be a true test of her abilities. The few missions she had gone on had not been anywhere close to being able to test the skills of a Sanin. She knew that Kakashi's scheme had been allowed to go through partially because of the trust Jiraiya and the village had in her abilities. She hoped that trust had not been misplaced.

Tenzo didn't have the doubts Tsunade had about her abilities. This was an opportunity to use **Mokuton** (Wood Release) on a grand scale. The Shodai's legacy was going to be put on display he was going to make Kakashi-senpai proud.

**AN: **Writing large fight scenes is difficult – I'm hoping I captured a bit of the chaos I was trying to describe. At times I felt like things happened way too fast and other times I think people's eyes are going to gloss over the wall of text of fight scene after fight scene. It is hard to balance! As always let me know what you think.


	30. Chapter 29: Clash Part II

**AN: **Thank you for all of your reviews. To the negative reviewer – if you don't like the fic that's fine. I don't mind criticism as long as it's something that is specific. Saying "too much fanon" doesn't mean anything to me. To everyone else – thank you for reading and your kind comments!

**Chapter 29:** Clash Part II

Naruto was surrounded and filled with the toxic chakra. He could feel it like fire on his skin and while it did hurt he could feel power pulsing throughout his body. With a growl he flashed forward toward the rival jinchuuriki. Naruto's blade struck with thunderous force against Han's armored forearm. The blade slashed through the armor itself but was blunted by the steam that circulated within the armor. The steam was solid chakra and it prevented Naruto's attack from slicing off Han's arm.

The steam however did not stop momentum and since it would not be sliced through the momentum pushed the seemingly immovable Han off his feet. The blow sent him careening back fifty feet. The Iwa shinobi were stunned as they watched their jinchuuriki go flying. Naruto wasted no time in blazing forward and killing one with a slice through the torso and another with a bone shattering kick.

Sasuke had 1st and 2nd degree burns on his face from the steam but he also ruthlessly sprang into action striking at the surprised Iwa shinobi. He managed to kill one before the others began to defend themselves appropriately.

The sudden reversal in the battle was only a brief respite as Han returned to the scene. Naruto felt hatred well up in him and he had to force it down lest he lose control of the fox's chakra. Taking a few moments to find his center again let Han close the distance once more.

Despite the seemingly bulky armor Han was viciously fast. His first assault on Naruto was only dodged by inches. Naruto kicked out and knocked the other jinchuuriki away. Steam billowed all around Han as he clashed again with Naruto. The chakra cloak that surrounded Naruto prevented the steam from harming him as the two clashed.

Sasuke waited for his opportunity to strike and jumped in on the first opportunity. Naruto had driven Han backwards with cross slash and Han tottered backward before regaining his balance. In that split second Sasuke slammed his Chidori into Han's back. Han was hurled forward from the piercing strike but like Naruto's wind infused katana it did not pierce the steam.

Han's armor was starting to become shredded. The steam no longer contained within the armor was fast becoming depleted. Soon it would be completely depleted and he would be vulnerable. However Han was a jinchuuriki, the container of a tailed beast. His power was not just his armor, his strength, stamina or jutsu. It was the raging fury of the Gobi.

Raw chakra emanated from him. Han's armor cracked and with little warning exploded outward. Pure force pushed Naruto and Sasuke away. Sasuke was blown off his feet but quickly used Kawarimi to get back safely to the ground. The ground beneath Han resembled a crater. Han emerged covered in red and black chakra looking bestial. The only thing that still identified the creature as Han was his **kasa** (hat) and the five tails that had risen from his backside.

Naruto wasted no time and immediately tried to decapitate his opponent. Han raised his hand and caught the blade despite the cutting power of the wind chakra that coated it. Han let out a roar and slashed Naruto with his other clawed hand. Naruto's eyes could barely see the quick swipe, in an instant he let go of his katana and leapt backwards. The claw missed Naruto but the massive power behind the blow actually ripped the air around him and shoved him back even further.

Immediately the chakra monster pounced toward Naruto who shoved a Rasengan upward as his opponent descended on him. The kyubi infused Rasengan met the demonic chakra and forced it back. Han let out another roar as he was slammed backwards and way from his prey. Naruto panted heavily the chakra around him fluctuated wildly, the 2nd tail of kyubi chakra was on the verge of dissipating.

Another score of Iwa shinobi had now caught up and more were arriving rapidly. Doton jutsu started being launched towards team seven. Sakura had a flash of insight and weaved a Genjutsu over Han. Han had been seemingly impervious to Genjutsu previously but now he was much more bestial and far less in control of his chakra. Sakura kept things simple. She simply changed where Naruto appeared to be. As Han rose the Naruto he had been fighting disappeared and reappeared behind him. Han let a roar and charged at the illusionary Naruto.

Sakura grimly smiled as the Iwa shinobi tasted the wrath of their own jinchuuriki. Han ripped apart an Iwa chunin before the illusion rippled and broke. Han was filled with bloodlust and sensed he had been tricked. Pushing chakra through his entire being he roared again sending concussive sound waves in all directions. Sakura's Genjutsu was torn asunder and she fell to one knee as the backlash of demonic chakra shredded her own chakra infused illusion. Han rounded on Naruto again and Sakura forced herself to stand. She quickly leapt away as the ground beneath her erupted into earth spears.

'Where are you Kakashi?'

*****BREAK*****

Sanami was standing by ready in case the little Namikaze brat managed to get away from Juro's forces. 'Come on run you little prick let me have some action!' Sanami was idly day dreaming about getting the killing blow off on Minato's child as well as his student when one of her sensor specialists reported in. "Four Konoha shinobi are heading in this direction." The man swallowed heavily, "One of them is Tsunade Senju." Sanami's head snapped up in surprise. "Send word to Juro now."

In a louder voice she addressed her subordinates, "One of the Sannin is inbound. But there is only one of her. We will bury her!" She snapped out orders to a pair of **Kuchiyose **(summoning) specialists who drew blood and completed their summoning. Each had summoned a massive ten foot tall goat that soon on its hind legs. They wore coverings that looked similar to a chunin vest and each had a massive battle axe in their hands.

Sanami knew that one blow from those axes could kill pretty much anyone even a Sannin. Of course actually hitting an elite shinobi was far easier said than done and the summons would have a hard time hitting even an average jonin let alone the legendary slug princess. The sensor shinobi shouted again, "They'll be on us in less than a minute."

The two goat summons took their positions on the front line along with a variety of mud clones. Sanami had no weapons in her hands. Unlike the Futon users in** Kaze no Kuni** (Land of Wind), Sanami did not use a war fan of any variety. Her hands were free to flip through hand signs needed to use any Futon jutsu in her repertoire. 'You might not be Namikaze or Hatake but you'll do just as well.'

*****BREAK*****

Tsunade and Gai were in the front of the formation and spotted the Iwa shinobi. With a shout Gai put on a burst of speed and slammed into the first mud clone. The clone didn't even have time to defend itself from the thunderous kick that obliterated it. Gai dashed toward his next opponent who was one of the summoned goats. The goat brayed and slashed horizontally. The swipe completely missed the speedy green clad shinobi.

Gai snapped the goat's kneecap before punching through another clone. Gai felt the earth rumble beneath him and neatly avoided the **Doton: Dosekiryu** (Earth Style: Earth Dragon). The wounded goat struck out forcing Gai to leap away. The Iwa shinobi worked together to try to box him in throwing kunai, Doton jutsu and more clones at him.

While they tried to contain 'Konoha's Noble Green Beast' the rest of the backup squad arrived. Sanami had not attacked Gai instead she had preserved her chakra for what she saw as the true theat. As soon as she spotted Tsunade she cried out, **"Senpu Kyoheki"** (Whirlwind Wall). Two tornados slammed down near Tsunade. Tsunade saw the winds rip up the dirt with slashing power and pushed chakra into her feet to leap over the jutsu.

Sanami saw her jump over the tornados she had created and focused her chakra on the destructive wind. Her existing jutsu stopped their forward advance and rushed toward the Sanin again. Tsunade narrowed her eyes and rushed into combat with other Iwa shinobi. If the wind user wanted to chase her with it she would have to go through her own comrades.

Tenzo was the next to enter the battle. Tenzo used his **Mokuton** (Wood Release) to stop projectiles headed for him and his comrades. One of the goat summons tried to tear apart the wooden wall he had created. The axe bit into the wall damaging it however the experienced ANBU manipulated his kekkei genkai to grow wooden lances out of the wall that pierced into the large summon. The wounded creature thrashed and Tenzo closed his fist forcing more chakra into the technique. The branches inside the creature continued to grow but now in all directions, piercing vital organs and ultimately killing the creature.

Shibi was the last to arrive and hung in the back. This did not go unnoticed and one of Iwa jonin used **Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu** (Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu) and attempted to trap him in the earth. Shibi darted to the side and avoided the man's attack. The jonin palmed a kunai and then stabbed the Aburame in the chest. The jonin's grin turned into horror as the body dissipated into a swarm of kikaichu. The real Shibi watched as his insects feasted on his foe's chakra.

However he was a jonin and so it wasn't quite as simple as that. The jonin used a shunshin to try to blow off the kikaichu with speed. He was partially successful as he was able to push away a large amount of the creatures. Feeling his chakra still being leached out he did it again and again. Now most of the bugs were off of him but they weren't dead and they continued to swarm after him. Finally the Iwa shinobi set off an explosive tag near his body and blew the majority away while doing minor injury to himself.

Shibi again sent the swarm after him and the jonin threw kunai with explosive tags into the heart of them to thin their numbers. After tagging several he rushed at Shibi. This time he threw shuriken to see if it was a bug clone or not. Shibi deflected them with his kunai and the Iwa jonin grinned as he closed in. Aburame were horrible at close combat. An explosive tag detonated right under his foot blowing half of it off. As the jonin tumbled to the ground Shibi darted forward and thrust his kunai into the back of the Iwa shinobi's neck.

What Shibi's opponent had not realized was that the kikaichu could do more than just become a clone or devour chakra. They could also be used to deliver small items through the disrupted earth of his **Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu** (Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu). Shibi had known his opponent would try to get into close combat so he had sent his allies into the ground and planted explosive seals. Unless the jonin leapt the final 20 feet his path would go right over the explosive notes. Shibi wiped clean his kunai and hurried to where the rest of his squad was fighting.

Gai had yet to open up the gates but his speed and taijutsu prowess made his 'A' rank a joke. Gai dodged and killed with ruthless proficiency. An Iwa taijutsu specialist fought Gai to a momentary standstill for all of 5 seconds since Gai was forced to dodge mud rivers, kunai and earth spears. Pivoting smoothly to avoid the latest Doton attack Gai shattered his opponents arm with his kick. It wasn't just his technique and speed it was also the sheer power behind his blows that made him so dangerous. Kakashi had chosen to give his team's training weights for a reason; he had seen just how effective they could be.

Sanami was tempted to keep the tornados going as Tsunade rushed into an Iwa squad but without a powerful clan to protect her it was dangerous to unleash attacks on her own side. She ended the jutsu and glanced at how the rest of the battle was going. She bit back a curse as she saw the leaf's premiere taijutsu specialist carve through her forces like a hot knife through butter. Sanami like most elite jonin studied bingo books and so she knew the name Maito Gai. Their latest intelligence had him training a trio of genin not partnered with Tsunade of the Sanin! Added to that a **Mokuton** (Wood Release) user?

Sanami saw Tsunade pulverize a chunin too slow to get out of the way. Sanami inhaled sharply and then expelled her jutsu.** Futon: Shinkugyoku** (Wind Release Vacuum Bullets) raced towards Tsunade who contorted out of their way save for one which clipped her shoulder. Sanami grinned at drawing blood and flipped though the hand signs of her next jutsu. Meanwhile Tsunade ignored the wound and lashed out with a vicious kick to a long haired Iwa kunoichi who desperately dodged away from the blow.

Flashing through the hand seals Sanami used **Futon: Uchikubi Retupuu** (Wind Release: Wind Decapitation). The razor edged wind was aimed for Tsunade's torso. The Sannin ducked underneath it and then slammed her fist into the ground sending a shockwave in all directions. More worrisome was the cloud of dust it kicked up that obscured the deadly S class nin from view. Sanami blew the dust away with **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). As the dust was cleared Sanami saw Tsunade use a knife hand strike to another Iwa shinobi's chest. Chakra flashed with the blow as the man's chest cavity collapsed.

Sanami prepared another jutsu but saw a cloud of insects swarm for her. She allowed them to get close before using **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) to push them away. Despite using multiple jutsu in a short time span the elite jonin was not tired. Her mastery of the Futon element allowed her to use far less chakra with her attacks then most ninjutsu specialists.

Sanami took stock of the battlefield again. Gai and Tsunade were demolishing the squads assigned to her. The **Mokuton** (Wood Release) user was using his kekkei genkai to shield himself and his squad preventing her forces from taking full advantage of the numerical disparity. Sanami had to fast the fact she was losing. She tapped the ground in a preset set number of times. The message was for Juro who could sense it, 'Strong opposition, failure possible.' The battle paused for a moment as a second wave demonic chakra assaulted their senses.

*****BREAK*****

Juro watched as the last battle toad return to its home. Kitsuchi had just arrived along with the northern squads he had dispatched. Juro bowed and said, "I am glad to find you well Kitsuchi-Sama." Kitsuchi nodded his head, "How is the battle going?"

Juro made his report, "After the initial clash they soon retreated. Our superior numbers are wearing them down. It turns out that the Namikaze is also the demon container of the nine tailed fox." Kitsuchi's eye brows raised that news. "So that is what I sensed, it felt different than Han." Juro continued, "Kakashi was able to deal with Maru-Sama and his loss is felt keenly."

Suzumori allowed a moment of silence for one of the great symbols of Iwa's strength. "Our southern forces have encountered heavy resistance. Team seven's flight has been arrested but we must move quickly or they could still escape." A fresh wave of demonic chakra was sensed by both of the elite jonin.

Kitsuchi asked, "And Kakashi? Has he been wounded?"

Juro shook his head, "No but he has used a lot of chakra. He has a dojutsu that killed Maru. It distorts space around someone and exerts tremendous force. If you feel chakra being gathered in his eye, move away immediately." Kitsuchi was glad of the warning. Unless Han was also able to deal with Kakashi it would likely fall on Juro and himself to defeat Sharingan no Kakashi. Without further word both sprang forward with a shunshin ready to finish the Namikaze before he could escape to the south.

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi made his presence known by slashing through the spine of an Iwa shinobi trying to attack his pink haired student with a Doton jutsu. He saw Han's jinchuuriki form and knew Naruto hadn't progressed far enough with using the kyubi chakra to match it. Kakashi wasn't sure if he could even match Gobi in this form. That certainly wouldn't stop him from trying though.

Kakashi intercepted Han's charge with a vicious kick to the creature's face. Kakashi didn't have the pure power of Tsunade but it had all the force behind it that one would expect it to have coming from an S class nin. The jinchuuriki's charge was halted as the momentum slammed him perpendicular to his original course. Han flipped up with beastlike agility and roared at the newcomer who had gotten between him and his prey.

During the roar Kakashi used that time to employ **Raiton: Shichu Shibari** (Lighting Release: Four Pillar Bind to capture the creature. Han roared and the waves of chakra nearly destroyed the prison by its own. Kakashi knew his jutsu wouldn't hold his opponent for long and quickly launched himself forward and pulled lightning chakra into his hand. Raikiri had even more piercing power than Chidori. The jinchuuriki broke free right as the Raikiri struck the dark chakra coating him.

The lightning was an unstoppable force that was smashing into an impenetrable defense. The instant the clash occurred Kakashi knew it would not do the job however the chakra cloak dimmed slightly as it worked to defend its host's body. Kakashi withdrew his hand and stabbed down with his kunai. He was always aware of his surroundings and so after the first stab he felt the projectiles racing toward him from nearby Iwa shinobi. Dodging them give the five tailed beast time to right itself.

While this was going on Naruto saw an opportunity to go after easier targets while his sensei dealt with the largest threat. Naruto's speed and power were magnified with the kyubi chakra allowing him to surpass all but the most elite jonin. When he crashed into a chunin squad they died in moments. When Naruto normally killed he regretted it but hid his feelings under the cool balm of logic that said he was protecting his village and in the long run was saving more lives. Infused with the kyubi chakra he instead laughed as his enemies screamed.

Sakura felt sick to her stomach seeing it but forced herself to focus on the fight. Naruto was Naruto, when he touched the demonic chakra he changed but once that horrible red haze left he would still be the boy who dreamed of being Hokage. 'I have to believe that!' Sakura for her part took advantage of the situation to bring on another Genjutsu that tricked an Iwa shinobi into seeing her allies as more leaf shinobi. She managed to kill a comrade with an explosive tag before her squad mates tried to get close enough to disrupt the chakra of the now obvious Genjutsu.

Sasuke was battered but quickly took advantage of the situation to strike out at the distracted shinobi securing an additional kill and then crippling another shinobi with a rib shattering kick. Squads of Iwa shinobi had become intermingled in the battle and now were not nearly as coordinated as they had been earlier. Team seven dominated their opponents in the chaos. Naruto retained the presence of mind to use the summoning jutsu to bring in Gama. The valiant toad was not the size of the great battle toads but could handle himself just fine in a fight.

The momentary advantage had cost the rock nin dearly but it was disrupted as more and more Iwa shinobi flooded the area. Many of which were mostly intact and began to chain Doton jutsu, flying kunai and other attacks at team seven. Sasuke retreated under the barrage while covering Sakura. Naruto flew into the fresh troops with a bloodlust that shocked his allies and his foes.

Kakashi was now breathing heavily as he tried to keep Han away from Naruto. If it had been a normal opponent of flesh and blood Kakashi would have been the victor six times over. Despite the jinchuuriki's raw power Kakashi moved sinuously around his opponent and never suffered a direct hit. Yet progress wasn't occurring and the bulk of the Iwa forces were arriving. Kakashi knew that with them would be Suzumori.

Kakashi wasn't ready to use Kamui again so quickly. Using it a second time and adding all the other jutsu he had used in quick succession would drain all of his reserves. Kakashi ducked another powerful slash and kicked off of Han just as a pair of kunai slammed into the ground. 'Tsunade's squad better get here fast!'

*****BREAK*****

When Tsunade felt the second wave of demonic chakra she knew that Kakashi's group was probably facing Han of the Steam Armor. Tsunade ducked an attack and countered with a destructive axe kick. Things were going very well here but they were running out of time. "Gai run ahead and assist we'll finish here!" Gai quickly gave her a thumbs up and activated the gates becoming a blur as he raced across the countryside.

Sanami moved to intercept but a wall of plant growth rose up in front of her and she had to dodge the piercing branches. The Futon specialist watched as Tsunade continued to wreck havoc. She cursed at the situation; one of the Sannin wouldn't fall to normal tactics. She ordered three of the jonin to break off their attack and come to her side while a chunin created a mud wall between them and any of their opponents.

"This isn't working. Do any of you have a Katon jutsu?" One of the jonin's indicated they did. "Good here is the plan. You two create mud clones and appear from beneath her. Wrap as many explosive tags as you have left on those clones and have them detonate as Tsunade hits them. After getting hit with the explosion she'll be vulnerable we'll then destroy her with my wind and your fire. Remember she's a damned Sanin so don't let up."

The plan took a few moments to put in motion as they wrapped the mud clones with explosive tags. In the meantime Tsunade had dealt death to another three shinobi. The mud clones disappeared under the earth and reappeared underneath Tsunade who dodged out of the way and countered with a vicious kick to the clone's torso.

The clone detonated damaging Tsunade's leg and throwing her backwards. Immediately Sanami used **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) while her ally used a Katon jutsu to add fire to their combination attack aimed at where Tsunade had fallen. Despite the wounded leg Tsunade used her chakra to push herself away from the massive inferno. An Iwa jonin attacked her in mid air. Despite her injuries it was foolish for any shinobi to willingly get close to Tsunade. Tsunade blocked the kunai held arm with enough strength to shatter bones.

As the Iwa nin gave a cry of pain Tsunade used her other chakra laced hand to hit him in the forehead, instantly cracking his skull and sending him falling to the ground. Earth spears lanced up to kill her as she fell and Tsunade punched downward with her chakra strength destroying the sharp landing zone. Trees grew all around her shielding her from an additional attack. Tsunade took stock of her wounds and realized they would hamper her if she didn't fix them.

In the moment of respite that Tenzo's wooden shelter provided the Sannin released her **Byakugo no In** (Strength of a Hundred Seal). Her violet forehead marking increased in size and now framed her face. Using **Sozo** **Saisei** (Mitotic Regeneration) she healed the damage done to her shredded leg and other wounds. A fiery inferno smashed into the wooden dome and pushed through it. Tsunade leapt through the flames allowing her regeneration to heal the burn wounds and lashed out with a devastating punch to the wind user.

Sanami's eyes widened in surprise as a nearly unharmed Tsunade burst through the flames and launched a blindingly fast punch to her chest. Sanami desperately dodged but wasn't quick enough and was struck with a glancing blow to her shoulder. That glancing blow dislocated her shoulder and threw her back a fair distance. Tsunade whipped around and kicked out at the Iwa jonin who had used the Katon jutsu.

The jonin had more time to react then Sanami had and danced backward and swiftly used the substitution jutsu to get some distance away from the angry kunoichi. Sanami struggled to stand and did so with the help of an Iwa chunin. Tenzo lashed out with wood grown from his own hand at the wounded enemy commander.

The Iwa chunin attempted to slice through the wood however it was coated with Tenzo's chakra making the attempt useless. Sanami rolled to the side and sucked in air while she did so. Releasing her chakra she exhaled out using **Futon: Shinkugyoku** (Wind Release Vacuum Bullets). Tenzo shielded himself with a wood barrier. The air bullets plinked into the barrier and failed to get through.

A cloud of insects swarmed over the chunin with Sanami and she could do nothing about it. A wind jutsu would hurt her comrade and she couldn't take her eye off of Tenzo either. Forty of her shinobi were dead or too injured to continue fighting. She hated herself for doing so but she tapped the ground signaling Juro that her position was critical and immediate assistance was needed or failure was imminent.

*****BREAK*****

Gai burst onto the scene with a cry of "**Dainamikku** **Entori**" (Dynamic Entry!). His flying kick snapped the neck of an Iwa chunin. Just as the Iwa shinobi had been turning the tide a new threat had emerged. Maito was currently using the Gate of Pain making his blows multiple times stronger than before. His reddish skin caused his form to blur in a combination of red and green as he massacred the other members of the chunin squad.

A **Doton: Dosekiryu** (Earth Style: Earth Dragon) swept down at him just as a **Doton**: **Doryuso** (Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears) ripped the ground beneath him in order to impale him. Gai jumped into the air to avoid the earthen spears and used a spinning back kick to annihilate the Earth Dragon. Gai landed and raced toward another group of Iwa shinobi. An Iwa jonin created a pair of mud clones and intercepted the leaf jonin in an attempt to save the chunin in his squad.

In a matter of seconds the mud clones were gone and Gai has given the Iwa jonin a nasty blow to the leg. Before Gai could finish him off another Earth Dragon careened toward him and he had to break off his attack to dodge the jutsu. Not allowing his momentum to suffer Gai pivoted toward a new opponent who was trying to attack Sakura. Gai's knee to the side pulverized the man's ribs.

Gai stopped his assault when he noticed Naruto's chakra flickering wildly. Naruto had dived into the middle of the enemy formation and despite his increased speed and power he was being overwhelmed by the attacks against him. A **Doton: Doryu Taiga** (Earth Release: Earth Flow River) had succeeded in covering him with mud. With his enhanced chakra he burst free only to take a number of explosive tags to the face. Naruto's chakra level dimmed and his second tail dissipated, leaving one remaining tail.

Gai sped onto the scene pausing only to kick a jonin attacking the toad Gama. The jonin managed to block the blow with two forearms which led to micro fractures in those bones. Gama was quick to capitalize on the attack and used the opening to wrap his long tongue around the enemy and bashed him against another Iwa shinobi.

Gai ripped through a wall of earth that attempted to slow his charge and landed next to Naruto clearing a space and allowed him to retreat. Sasuke used the last of his explosive tags to help create some distance. Naruto thanked Gai for the assistance. Sakura shouted to Naruto, "Get some clones out its time for the downpour." Naruto nodded and swiftly made 30 clones. Sakura hastily unsealed a number of scrolls with a blue ribbon attached to each of them.

The elite jonin didn't know what Kakashi's youthful squad was planning but it probably involved some preparation so he quickly launched himself back at the Iwa forces. Despite the sudden arrival of another dangerous opponent from the leaf the Iwa spirits were lifted when their own reinforcements arrived. Sixty fresh shinobi along with Kitsuchi and Juro were now on the battlefield.

*****BREAK****

Juro arrived on the scene and analyzed the battle in an instant. The Namikaze was a jinchuuriki whose chakra was quickly fading. He would not be able to maintain his chakra cloak for long. The Uchiha only had superficial, if painful wounds however he also looked running low on stamina. The pink haired girl that intelligence had listed as Sakura Haruno seemed to be the least injured and had stayed in the rear of her team's formation as support.

Kakashi was unwounded but obviously on the edge of his reserves. Juro had not worked with Han before so he did not know how long the jinchuuriki would be able to maintain his current form. The newcomer on the battlefield was the Green Beast of Konoha. Juro knew that after today, assuming the man survived, Iwa's Bingo Books would be updated to indicate Gai's S rank status.

Juro had also felt the second signal from Sanami that indicated her position was almost overrun. Allowing a potential avenue for escape was unacceptable. Juro gave his orders, 20 shinobi were to go with Atratus (Dark Vulture Summon) and delay Tsunade of the Sannin as long as possible. Juro's mission parameters were direct, do whatever was necessary to kill the Namikaze. If they had to kill him and then retreat that would be good enough.

Suzumori sent another of the five fresh squads to flank team seven and complete the encirclement. Kitsuchi created clones and sent them to help Han against Kakashi. The real Kitsuchi went to confront Gai. Juro held back and watched with curiosity as the freshly created Naruto clones each opened up a scroll that sent a deluge of water gushing out. The fuinjutsu scrolls were not the typical storage scrolls. They must have been modified as water continued pouring out of the scrolls in significant quantities.

'What are you planning,' Juro pondered as he watched the enfolding battle.

**AN: **The next chapter will have the exciting conclusion of the battle. For those of you who don't enjoy heavy combat chapters – I'm sorry! Next few chapters will deal with fallout, team seven's thoughts about what occurred and politicking.


	31. Chapter 30: Clash Part III

**AN: **Not much to say – please read and review! Also if anyone would like to help me with editing the story I wouldn't say no.

**Chapter 30:** Clash Part III

Tsunade was proving to be a nightmare to deal with. The Iwa shinobi had changed tactics and were outright avoiding her as much as possible throwing in clones, smoke bombs, earth walls and other distractions. No one wanted or even attempted to get in close to her. Sanami used her one good hand to create the necessary hand signs for her Futon jutsu against Tenzo.

Sanami breathed a sigh of relief as reinforcements arrived in the form of the Dark Vulture. Four Iwa shinobi clung to its back as it flapped onto the scene. Atratus looked at the targets carefully and dismissed Tsunade immediately. The Aburame clan was particularly hard to ensnare in Genjutsu due to their kikaichu allies so he was out too.

Via process of elimination the deadly bird set its sights on Tenzo. Tenzo had a long history in ANBU and was skilled at detecting Genjutsu. However the strength and power of the Dark Vulture's attack was enough to drown out his normal defenses. Tenzo collapsed to his knees as he saw visions of his body decaying before his eyes. Tsunade saw Tenzo fall and rushed toward him.

Unfortunately for Tenzo she simply was too far away and was not in time to stop Sanami from unleashing **Futon: Uchikubi Retupuu** (Wind Release: Wind Decapitation). Tsunade was only feet away when the wind scythe ripped through the ANBU operative's neck. Tsunade could only watch in horror as her comrade's head rolled off his body. No medical jutsu could fix that wound, death had already claimed him.

Tsunade had not known Tenzo long and had no particularly close feelings for him. However seeing him die was a painful blow. Hot rage filled her and she screamed as she charged after his killer. Sanami hastily used **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) at the enraged Sannin. Tsunade powered through the gale force winds hardly slowing down at all. Her allies attempted to stop the charge with a multitude of Doton jutsu that didn't faze her in the slightest.

Fear gripped her heart as she rushed through another jutsu only for a kunai to blossom in the back of her throat. Her intent had been so focused on dangerous Sannin and the raw killer intent being directed at her that she never noticed Shibi Aburame moving in position behind her. Shibi wrenched his kunai out of her throat and she collapsed dead.

Tsunade's grief and rage were not yet spent as she charged another Iwa shinobi. The five squads that Juro had sent were just now arriving on the battlefield. Atratus had been able to arrive sooner due to his flight speed. The relief forces were dismayed when they arrived. Almost the entire southern contingent lay dead or dying. Only one leaf shinobi was on the ground and one of the Sannin was giving chase to the remainder.

They looked at their squad leaders and swallowed thickly. They prepared to weather the storm of the world's most powerful kunoichi as best they could.

*****BREAK*****

Kitsuchi attacked Gai with **Doton: Kengan no Jutsu** (Earth Release: Fist Rock Technique). His entire arm was covered in rock hard stone and it raced toward Gai's head. Gai had just avoided another Iwa attack and saw the fist coming for him. He ducked beneath it and countered with a vicious strike of his own. Kitsuchi used his free hand to block the blow and the two fought each other with taijutsu.

Kitsuchi was quickly forced back by the powerful jonin. Gai had an edge in speed, strength and raw talent for taijutsu. Kitsuchi only had two things going for him. The distracting attacks from his allies and his rock armor that allowed him to survive Gai's blows.

Kitsuchi's clones had gone after Kakashi and were hoping to distract him enough to allow Han an opening. Kakashi inwardly groaned as he had to work much harder to avoid being taken down. He was better than Kitsuchi but most of his attention had to be on the rampaging jinchuuriki. It was also time to do his part in their prepared plan; the water saturation was high enough.

Sakura had done some excellent work with fuinjutsu. Her modified sealing scroll matrix allowed her to increase the amount stored in the scroll by a factor of a 200. On the other hand the formula was longer, took more chakra to create and did not preserve the items sealed. But she wasn't using these storage scrolls to move goods she only used them to carry a massive amount of water.

The water that now filtered throughout the battlefield ankle deep. Kakashi dodged another attack by Han and had to accept a blow to his shoulder from the Kitsuchi clone. Kakashi controlled his fall and saw his students initiated the next part of their plan. Sasuke had trained long hours with Suiton, his third chakra element he had studied. No deadly water whips or bullets were used at this point. Instead Sasuke simply spread his chakra over the water. He manipulated the water to spray in all directions. The 'attack' if it could be called as such couldn't have even hurt a civilian. However he kept the chakra connection, meaning all of the water particles he had sprayed were still connected by his chakra.

Kakashi created a shadow clone to continue the dance with the jinchuuriki and moved into position. He glanced at Juro who had a look of concentration on his face before alarm flared over his features. The enemy commander began to shout out orders as Kakashi let loose with **Raiton: Jibashi Daino** (Lightning Release: Massive Electromagnetic Murder) on the ankle high water.

The electric current followed the strands of water chakra Sasuke had unified to each droplet on the enemy. A few like Juro had used their chakra to disrupt the flow and weren't struck by the electricity. A few also were on the edges of the battle and were not hit with the water spray. But by and large nearly all of the Iwa shinobi had water on them which meant they were affected by the lethal voltage that now coursed through their bodies.

Kakashi had pushed a massive amount of chakra into the jutsu ensuring those caught in it were dead. He had to move as soon as it ended as a Kitsuchi clone barreled toward him. Rolling away from the attack he popped a soldier pill to give him a small boost to his near empty chakra reserves. Han had suffered through the electrocution and was still going. Kakashi felt his clone pop and grimaced. Most of the Iwa shinobi were dead but the fight wasn't over.

Naruto and Sasuke fell back to where Sakura was and set themselves into a defensive formation. Naruto was on his last legs; his chakra tail was flickering wildly. Sasuke popped a soldier pill and felt partially rejuvenated. The scent of charred and electrified bodies hung heavy in the air, even the stiff breeze blowing around them couldn't clear it. Everyone could sense the battle was coming to an end.

Juro shook his head in disgust. His comrade's bodies littered the field. Kitsuchi was losing to Gai and Han was near mindless in his rage. He could go after the clearly winded Kakashi but it wasn't certain. Suzumori felt he only had one chance to salvage the situation. He used **Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu** (Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu) to travel underground and pop up behind Konoha's jinchuuriki.

His tanto was aimed at Naruto's neck. All three members of team seven had felt the pressure underneath them. Naruto danced back hefting a chakra kunai while Sakura flipped through the hand signs for her only Katon jutsu. Sasuke's Sharingan saw Juro's tanto miss Naruto. Sakura's fireball was blocked by a wall of earth and Naruto's chakra laced kunai only scratched Juro's arm. Sasuke saw earthen spikes chase after Naruto, no hand signs needed.

Sasuke attempted to distract their dangerous opponent with Chidori Senbon with little success. Juro sprang toward the furiously dodging Naruto and lashed out again with his tanto even as lances of rock arced toward Naruto. Naruto blocked the tanto strike but wasn't fast enough to stop one of the rock spikes from slamming into his back. If it had not been for his chakra cloak he would have skewered. As it was the final chakra tail dimmed and collapsed completely.

Sakura ran forward to defend her friend only for the earth itself to spike up through the water. With her chakra control she was able to feel their arrival and she was able to dodge. Suddenly Juro was there attacking her and she had to block causing her to miss a step. She gave an involuntary scream as a spike of earth slammed through the back of her thigh.

Naruto used the last of the kyubi chakra he could access to embower and fling another chakra laced kunai. As he felt the chakra cloak collapse he swiftly swallowed his soldier pill. Using a soldier pill had no effect on the kyubi chakra but it would allow him to use some of his own chakra again during the fight. Had he not taken the pill he would likely have fallen unconscious. With fresh chakra he quickly made a swarm of clones to distract Juro and protect Sakura. Sasuke kicked away another earth spear that threatened to pierce Sakura's torso and grabbed his teammate and used shunshin to get away from the perilous earth around Juro.

Juro annihilated the clones around him. Gai saw this happening and knew he had to do something or Kakashi's students would fall. He opened the gates up to the Gate of View. He kicked Kitsuchi away with his now superior strength and then appeared in front of Naruto and used **Asa** **Kujaku** (Morning Peacock) on Juro. Juro hastily put up an earth wall that was pounded to shreds by the sheer fiery power of Gai's attack. The clan head dived into the earth to escape the rest of the deadly attack that burst through rock and mud.

Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief as Gai forced Suzumori away from his team. He couldn't afford to be distracted as the furious jinchuuriki continued his relentless assault. Kakashi dodged to the right and then flipped over the jinchuuriki tossing a few explosive note laden kunai on Han. The explosions for the umpteenth time failed to stop him. Kakashi knew that even a tailed beast didn't have unlimited chakra and each attack no mattering how seemingly minor was progress.

Kitsuchi painfully got up from the last kick Gai had sent him. When Gai had advanced to a higher gate the difference between the two had become even more telling. He couldn't defeat the leaf taijutsu master. Kitsuchi shouted out, "Iwa forces retreat." Juro came up next Kitsuchi, "Kitsuchi-Sama they are on their last legs. Victory is still within our grasp." Kitsuchi shook his head, "No its not. I can survive another minute at best against that green monster. Your chakra levels are too low and based on the messages we've received Tsunade will be here soon. We need to leave now." Juro bowed his head in obedience and shame.

He had failed.

Han fought against the bloodlust within his system when he heard the order to retreat. He had been a jinchuuriki for a number of years. There was a reason he was trusted to go on this mission. He backed away from Kakashi and forced the demonic chakra down and reappeared in his human form sans armor. He nearly collapsed but was quickly held up by a pair of Iwa shinobi. The remnants of the Iwa forces quickly grabbed the bodies of any bloodline users and left the remaining behind on the field of battle.

Juro clenched his jaw. Of 400 chunin and jonin there were only fifty survivors and most of them had severe wounds that could spell the end of their shinobi careers. Their greatest summon ally was dead. Sanami had not reported in and was presumed dead. Suzumori wondered if the Tsuchikage would demand his head for this.

Kakashi regrouped with his team and watched as the Iwa shinobi left the battlefield. Gai looked at his rival, "Do we pursue?" Kakashi shook his head, "Too risky." He looked around, "And I think we've done enough." Gai nodded. He kept the gate unlocked until an angry Tsunade arrived on the scene. Now that she was here he gratefully collapsed, his muscles torn and straining.

Kakashi saw Tsunade and Shibi and felt a sudden lurch in his gut. "Where is Tenzo?" Everyone was silent for a moment. Tsunade finally said, "He didn't make it." The news hit Kakashi like a hammer blow. He had mentored Tenzo when he had first joined the ANBU. The battlefield was no place for regrets and so he forced himself to ignore his friend's death for the time being.

"Tsunade heal the injuries and then let's depart and regroup with the relief force." Tsunade nodded and got to work. Kakashi's shoulder was heavily bruised but outside of that wound he was fine. Sasuke had some second degree burns on his face as well as a few other minor wounds but nothing too dramatic. Tsunade eyed his face, "Won't even be a scar." Naruto's body overall was hurting, the kyubi chakra was not healthy to wield for very long and he felt the aftereffects keenly. Sakura had messy wound on her leg that could have caused permanent injury but for someone of Tsunade's caliber there would only be a small scar. The most wounded individual was oddly enough Gai who had taken no real damage from his opponents. But he had opened the sixth gate which subjected his body to a number of muscle tears.

Tsunade was able to heal those injuries however Gai was nearly dead on his feet from exhaustion. The Konoha shinobi were victorious but battered. They took a slow pace until they met up with the secondary relief force. At which point Gai, Kakashi and Naruto collapsed into unconsciousness.

*****BREAK*****

The Raikage looked over the report regarding the Iwa/Konoha battle in the Land of Frost. One of the elders of the council spoke up, "The Namikaze and his team are powerful. Perhaps it would have been wiser to aide Iwa in crushing this threat." Mabui tensed, waiting for yet another table to be broken. However the Raikage did not react with anger.

"It's done and I'll hear no more of it."

Darui was the next to speak, "Lord Raikage with this new information about the Namikaze being the jinchuuriki of the kyubi will we change our current position towards Konoha?"

The Raikage didn't answer, he seemed lost in thought. The council murmured uncertainly. The Raikage was in fact lost in thought. He was thinking about the time he squared off against Konoha's 'Yellow Flash.' He had nearly lost his life that day; the Yondaime Hokage was the only shinobi who had ever made a mockery of his speed. And now his son wielded the power of most powerful of the bijuu.

Taking their leader's silence as leave to discuss amongst themselves, the council debated on what should be done. Some favored immediately allying themselves with Iwa and crushing Konoha between the two of them. Others preferred a wait and see approach. Some even called on making an alliance with Konoha and offering to go to war with Iwa while they were weakened. The Raikage finally cleared his throat.

"We will do nothing. We will continue building our shinobi forces. I will not prematurely enter us into any war without the certainty that we cannot be stopped. The standing order to capture any Konoha targets of opportunity is rescinded. Now leave." The standing order the Raikage referred to was if a Kumo team was on a mission and had an opportunity to capture a bloodline with little risk they were to take it.

Unlike in Konoha under the third Hokage the council in Kumogakure had little power. The Raikage was a man prone to violent outbursts and used that judiciously to ensure compliance. For the most part interests were nearly perfectly aligned. The Raikage wished to strengthen the village and become the dominant force in the elemental nations. National pride was a unifying factor and only in the details and methods was there disagreement. And in those cases the will of the Raikage was always successful.

The Raikage aide remained behind and asked, "You seem different today is everyone all right?" The Raikage ignored her as he stared out one of the windows. After a long silence Mabui turned and left the Raikage alone with his thoughts.

*****BREAK*****

Even before the Konoha team arrived in Konoha the Tsuchikage received the news of the massacre. To say that Onoki was upset would be a colossal understatement. His office was pulverized to the atomic level. None dared go near him save his granddaughter.

After some time Onoki had new orders. "Get in contact with the Akatsuki. Offer them whatever amount they want." Onoki had failed with his own shinobi but knew that the mercenary organization he had begun to use had a mission success rate second to none. Plus he wouldn't have to pay them if they failed so there was only upside for him.

Kurotsuchi asked him, "You're being stupid old man. This vendetta nearly killed my father and cost us hundreds of shinobi. Why not let it go?" Onoki glared at his descendent, "If you weren't my blood I'd kill you for saying that. Allow that little monster to grow stronger and he'll be a boot on our neck for decades! You youngsters don't know what it was like back then so keep your mouth shut."

Kurotsuchi mumbled a few things under her breath but even she was wary around her grandfather. His eyes had taken on a crazed look that made her feel uneasy. Kurotsuchi decided it would be wise to step a bit more lightly around him for the next few days.

**AN:** Sorry Yamato fans! This chapter was a bit short. I'll be honest the large fight scenes were exhausting to write. I had a lot more fun writing the attack on Orochimaru then this one for some reason. Oh and don't expect team seven to fight anyone using the Doton element in a LONG time.


	32. Chapter 31: Reaction

**AN: **Updates probably will not occur as frequently.

**Chapter 31:** Reaction

Iruka sweated underneath a typical warm day in the Land of Fire. He had taken a training spot near one of the small streams that ran at the outskirts of Konoha. This allowed him ready access to water for his Suiton jutsu. Over the past month Iruka had taken to using weights on his arms and legs. At first it had been slow going but now he could feel himself getting stronger and swifter.

Iruka spent a lot of time training in between his class work. He had the smarts and knowledge to be a jonin but his body was lacking. His chakra reserves were also depressingly small compared to a jonin. While he would never be a chakra power house, his reserves were increasing.

Naruto's favorite academy sensei launched into another round of blistering fast attack combinations. After another half hour of rapid fire kicks, punches and lunging strikes he stopped and drank some water. His clothing was covered in sweat and he wrinkled his nose slightly. He peeled his shirt and vest off his body and threw it to one side.

Effortlessly manipulating the water he had it wash away the sweat and dirt. Feeling refreshed and ready for another round he launched into another taijutsu routine. As Iruka found his rhythm he felt another chakra signature approach. Whoever was hiding was trying to keep hidden but he was a skilled sensor and was able to detect the other shinobi's presence.

'Hmm who could it be? A friend would identify himself. It could be a prankster but no, it seems too strong for someone like Konohamaru.'

Iruka had not stopped his routine. If the unknown shinobi meant him harm he wanted to have an edge. Several minutes went by and still no move was made. Iruka started letting his taijutsu routine take him closer to the stream. There was still no movement from the nearby bushes.

'All right, let's see if this makes you move.'

Iruka gathered in water and let it gush out using **Suiton: Mizurappa** (Water Release: Wild Water Wave). The C ranked ninjutsu was unlikely to be lethal but would quickly flush out whoever had been spying on him. The water crashed into the bush and Iruka sensed the chakra signature switch over to a nearby tree.

"Naughty Naughty Iruka! Trying to get me all wet…"

Iruka saw the relatively familiar form of Anko Mitarashi standing on one of the nearby tree limbs. Knowing who he was talking to led Iruka to figure out the alternative interpretation to Anko's words. Iruka felt heat flare in his cheeks. "What are you doing out here Mitarashi-san?"

Anko gave a little shrug and dropped off of the tree. She sauntered over to a now nervous Iruka, "I was just walking by and I saw a glimpse of a half naked man and just had to get a closer look."

Iruka was now backing away. There were stories about Anko, most of them he had thought were vicious rumors spread by people who distrusted her for being Orochimaru's apprentice. But maybe those rumors were accurate.

Anko moved sinuously forward, "Oh Iruka-kun why are backing up? Don't you like what you see?"

Iruka began to stammer out a reply when he felt a kunai at his back. A second Anko was there, "If you're serious about becoming a jonin you really need to get some situational awareness." Anko lightly trailed the kunai down his back not breaking any skin. The clone behind him then popped into a puff of smoke. Iruka expanded his senses to keep track of where Anko was located.

Konoha's one and only snake mistress had used shunshin to leave. Iruka shook his head.

'Mitarashi-san may be crude but she was right. I can't let a pretty body, err face distract me so much. An enemy kunoichi could have easily killed me there.'

Determination to do better was etched on Iruka's face. The lesson was well taken but he couldn't help but wonder why Anko had bothered to teach it to him.

*****BREAK*****

When the news reached Konoha about Naruto being Minato's child the village as a whole was dumbfounded. The boy they had ignored or tormented was actually the beloved Yondaime's child? Those who had taken a vocal and antagonistic approach to the 'demon brat' felt incredible shame. One civilian even aped the samurai tradition of seppuku and kill himself.

A very few still nursed their hatred and thought that even if the child came from the flesh of Namikaze-Sama it was still tainted by the kyubi. Would the son of such a wonderful shinobi and leader truly deface the monument that bore his image? No it was the damned fox that wore a flesh mask of a boy that was in control. This attitude did not endear them to the village populace and more than one nasty brawl took place.

Some even claimed it was all a lie, that it was an attempt to use their beloved fourth Hokage's name to hide the crimes of the demon brat. Few civilians and no shinobi listened to that once the Godaime himself announced to the village that yes Naruto Uzumaki was in fact Naruto Namikaze.

Much of the village had ignored the boy but most weren't around him day by day and so did not actively harm him. While they felt mildly guilty still at their previous attitude they felt great joy that the Namikaze clan still lived. It was a time of much rejoicing for those individuals. Konoha had always fawned over its bloodlines like Hyuga and the Uchiha. It brought great pride to the village that Konohagakure still held the bloodline of the fourth Hokage. While no kekkei genkai was attributed to the Namikaze clan it had to have strength to produce shinobi like Minato and now the budding prodigy that was Naruto.

Attitudes could be fickle in village hidden in the leaves and the same gossip that led to Naruto being shunned as a child now worked in reverse and built the name of Naruto up. Was he not one of the saviors of so many at the gates of the arena when the joint invasion took place? Wasn't he rumored to be part of the mission that helped kill the arch-traitor Orochimaru? The hype around Naruto Namikaze grew and grew.

Attention was also turned to Kakashi and his team. Kakashi was widely considered the most powerful shinobi after Jiraiya-Sama. It made sense that Yondaime's son would be on his team. The team also consisted of Sasuke Uchiha the last loyal vestige of the vaunted Uchiha clan. After the massacre the village had actively adored Sasuke and now men and women talked about how the two brightest pupils were being tutored by the very best, just how it should be. Their love and respect for the Sandaime grew since they assumed the pairing was done purposefully.

This actually brought quite a bit of attention to the Haruno family. If the heirs to the Namikaze and Uchiha clan were brought together to form a team under Sharingan no Kakashi then who was this third pupil? Was she another secret the powers that be had kept under wraps? Was she a secret heir to some dormant clan? Rumors and tall tales were being spun, each more fantastic then the last. Some claimed she could be the Godaime' secret love child, after all he did write those books. Others thought she could be the heir to the Senju clan, maybe even Tsunade's child! And of course the Sannin were teammates. Maybe Sakura was the child of both Jiraiya and Tsunade! Jiraiya had winced when he heard that particular rumor, Hokage hat or no he didn't want to be near Tsunade when she heard that.

Of course it was all nonsense as the poor Haruno family kept trying to explain. Sakura was definitely their child and no they weren't part of a secret or ancient bloodline. Eventually they stop being harassed but for the first few days they had nearly asked the Hokage for shinobi to turn away villagers who kept following them and asking questions.

Word also reached the village; team seven had been attacked by Iwa. Outrage was the first response. Naruto's heritage had been announced and immediately Iwa dogs tried to assassinate him? The drumbeat of war was being sounded by the civilian population. The shinobi forces were relieved that team seven had made it out alive and took a different view. Attacking Iwa was always a risky proposition since the terrain so heavily favored their hidden village. Nearly everyone who had served in the Third Shinobi War was wary of going to war with Iwagakure. Not that it was the civilians or the shinobi of the village's choice. That was the purview of Jiraiya, the fifth Hokage and he was not going to be the one to start the next war.

*****BREAK*****

Danzo sipped a bitter yet flavorful tea. The contrast was intriguing to Homura and Koharu. Danzo liked to send subtle messages to those around him and the two advisors wondered what Danzo was trying to say to them. Koharu began, "Danzo something must be done. Our advice is being completely ignored by Jiraiya."

Danzo took another sip and did not respond.

She continued, "The boy ignores the advice of we elders and his arrogance is putting the village at risk. We could have lost the jinchuuriki to Iwa!"

Homura added, "He hardly even agrees to meet with us anymore. Shikaku and Kakashi have basically replaced us."

Danzo finally responded, "It is unfortunate that he is not willing to work with us. And yet despite my initial doubts Jiraiya has proven himself."

Koharu's eyes widened in surprise, "What? What are you saying?"

Danzo replied, "I am saying that Jiraiya has strengthened Konoha. The snake attacked our village and murdered Hiruzen. In response he hunts down Orochimaru and destroys Otogakure completely. His talk of peace is just that, talk. Otogakure annihilated, Kumo cowed and Iwa crippled. All of this in the first year as the Godaime Hokage."

Koharu replied, "Then what would you have us to do? We have been alive longer, seen more and have collected more wisdom. It is all being wasted."

Danzo gave a nearly imperceptible shrug, "Perhaps our wisdom is no longer needed. As long as Jiraiya continues to make the village strong I have no complaints. He had unearthed ROOT but has allowed operational control to stay with me. I am content."

Koharu frowned. She wasn't happy but without Danzo's support there was little she could do about the current situation.

*****BREAK*****

Team seven was treated to a parade when they returned. Naruto appreciated attention but even this was a bit much in his eyes. It seemed like the entire village had come out to cheer their return. Kakashi gave his student a push, "Up front Naruto, they are here to see you."

Naruto was still wearing the white haori in the style of his father. The volume rose up to an almost painful level as Naruto walked through the streets of Konoha. Kakashi looked at Sasuke and asked, "How are you taking all of this Sasuke?"

Sasuke smirked, "Just fine Kakashi-sensei, after all now Naruto gets to learn how to deal with _fan girls_."

Naruto looked back in horror. Sakura muttered darkly under her breath and Kakashi graced them with a rare chuckle.

The crowd cheered them all the way to the Hokage tower where Jiraiya was standing there waiting for them. He was outfitted in full Hokage regalia and gave the crowd a few quick words before having team seven follow them in for a debrief. It was a formality since Gai had personally informed the Hokage after running on ahead after they had joined the secondary relief force.

The moment everyone was out of sight Jiraiya made a hand sign and sealed his formal Hokage robes and hat. "I hate wearing that costume," he explained. Naruto shook his head, "Are you kidding me pervy sage? That hat is awesome!"

Jiraiya glared at Naruto, "You know if we were in any other village you'd be in big trouble for that."

Naruto shrugged, "I'm aware but that's what makes Konoha the best village."

Jiraiya had a few questions for team seven so he could get a clearer picture of Gai's report but nothing too strenuous. He actually had a lot of questions on how the seals worked in combat more than anything else. He also congratulated them on a job well done and handed out three chunin vests. "You are all jonin level but for now we'll keep you as chunin unless there are major objections." There were none, rank really didn't mean anything to them. Kakashi shared jutsu independent of the normal rules associated with it.

Finally he said, "I bet all of you are ready to relax, consider yourself off duty for the next three days barring any major catastrophes." He paused and then went on, "Stay on guard even if you are in the village. It's not a matter of if assassins come for you Naruto it is an issue of when." Naruto nodded stiffly but confidently.

Kakashi inclined his head and told his team, "Meet at our training grounds tomorrow at six."

The toad sage grimaced, "I just gave them a three day vacation!"

Kakashi gave his leader a look, "Right. This is on a volunteer basis then."

All three newly minted chunin looked at each and as one said, "Hai Kakashi-sensei, we'll be there."

"Get out all of you," Jiraiya groused.

*****BREAK****

Kakashi left his team to their own devices for the remainder of the day. He had somewhere he had to be instead. While on the mission he was in control of his body and emotions. He was an elite shinobi how could he not be in control? However the idea of not properly acknowledging Tenzo's death soured his stomach.

Tenzo had looked up to him. He had trusted him, perhaps even idolized him. The simple truth was that if Kakashi hadn't planned this mission to lure out the Iwa forces Tenzo would be alive. If Kakashi hadn't chosen Tenzo to be on the backup mission he would still be alive. Kakashi stood still at the memorial stone as he allowed those thoughts to run through his head.

He had felt similar to this on many occasions. Obito, Rin and Minato had also struck him. After Minato however he had changed, he had forced himself to get over his grief and be the shinobi his sensei had known he could be. He had trained his body to its peak. He had mastered over a thousand jutsu and had refined many of them to a greater point then their original crafters.

Fundamentally he knew that people would die around him. He hoped he would die before any of his current students did but the risk was always there. He would not drown himself in sorrow like he had in the past but he would honor his friend.

Kakashi kept vigil at the monument as the sun crept passed the horizon. The moon was out and still he kept his silent still vigil. At some point Jiraiya arrived several feet away. Kakashi did not acknowledge his arrival and the two stood silently for a time. Eventually Jiraiya spoke, "I'm sorry Kakashi, I know you shared a bond with Tenzo."

"If you are worried that his death will compromise my abilities you need not worry."

Jiraiya looked at Kakashi hard for a moment, "I wasn't worried. You've been through this before and you still have responsibilities." The toad sage remained quiet for a few more minutes, "While I'm not worried I'm also not in dire need of your services. Iwa's been defanged and I doubt Kumo will try anything soon."

Kakashi looked up, "What are you suggesting?"

"A vacation. Live a little while you can, bond with your team. Don't do missions for a bit, keep training but be a bit more relaxed about it."

Kakashi narrowed his one visible eye, "We may have prevented war for now but it's still coming. And even if it wasn't, Naruto will be a target, he and his team need to be even stronger."

Jiraiya countered, "Burnout is a real phenomenon, in fact Shizune thinks it's one of the leading causes of shinobi turning into missing nin."

Kakashi's first reaction was to vehemently voice his assurance of his team's loyalty. But it wasn't necessary; Jiraiya didn't doubt that for a second. Instead Kakashi reflected on what Jiraiya was trying to say. Training would continue but perhaps the pace could be eased slightly. He could give time for them to develop stronger bonds with other shinobi their age.

Kakashi finally said, "Tell me more about what's been happening since I've been gone and then I'll consider it."

Jiraiya began to explain a few minor internal events that were of no real concern. There were two pieces of major news however. The first was that the long war within the Land of Water was finally over. It may have been over for several months now. A new Mizukage had taken charge and order was being restored. "And she's a pretty one too! We don't know a whole lot about Mei Terumi but all reports say she is formidable."

'She has a kekkei genkai, making it so all bloodline users know it's not a convoluted trap to ensnare them. I've heard she can be brutal in battle but is fairly charismatic.' Kakashi pondered how this would impact Konoha.

'Even if she is able to stamp out the pockets of resistance her countries economy is shot. Her shinobi forces are decimated, she'll be in a similar position that Suna is in.' Kakashi reconsidered after a moment. 'Not exactly. **Mizu no Kuni** (Land of Water) had more natural resources and trade routes. And while their shinobi population was probably just as low if not lower they would be quite top heavy. The weak would have died in the bloody civil war leaving a lean and hardened core of shinobi.'

"What is Konoha's position going to be?"

Jiraiya smiled, "That's a good question. I'd love to lend a helping hand and show the shinobi world a better way but I'm uncertain about their intentions. I'd hate to help build up another war mongering power that will be a kunai poised at our back."

Kakashi considered the dilemma. This was **Chigiri no Sato** (Village of the Bloody Misty) they were talking about. The shinobi from Kirigakure often resembled what many civilians thought all shinobi were like. Cold, ruthless, bloodthirsty, stealthy and compassionless. Before the civil war Kiri had accepted more assassination missions then any three other villages combined. Kakashi knew firsthand how ruthless Kiri could be.

'Still… of all the villages, Kiri hates Iwa the most. A useful counterpoint even if they don't share a border.'

"It sounds like we need more information."

Jiraiya grimaced, "Exactly. And sadly my spy network isn't that effective."

Kakashi cocked his head, "What do you mean?"

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Well my 'agents' were just people who listened for rumors. If something sounded interesting I used my abilities to spy on the area for awhile. Most leads didn't produce anything but hey I had a lot of time on my hands and investigated personally."

Kakashi looked at Jiraiya, "Are you telling me that your vaunted spy network was just you poking your nose at anything that looked interesting."

"Yes, I did tail Orochimaru for quite some time too. When it comes to infiltration there isn't anyone better than I am." Jiraiya let Kakashi mull that over for a few moments and then continued, "But that does leave us painfully in the dark now that I'm stuck behind a desk."

It would be foolish to make a decision about the new Mizukage without more information. And with their spy network not in the best of shape that information may not be forthcoming soon.

"What is the second piece news?"

"Baki has announced Temari will be the next Kazekage," the Hokage responded.

Kakashi thought through the possible reasons for the announcement. It pointed toward potential internal drama in Suna more than anything. By announcing the decision it pulled the rug out of those who were against it. Suna would now look foolish if they chose another Kazekage.

'On the other hand if the opposition had strong enough feelings against her they will be sending assassins.'

"Any word on when Baki plans on stepping down?"

Jiraiya shook his head. That was another piece of information they didn't have. "You're caught up now – so how about that vacation?"

Kakashi gave a small sigh, "My team will rest for a week. They will still do some training but I'll have them train with others from their academy class so it will be more social and less strenuous. After that you can send us on a mission suited for our talents or we'll stay in the village and train at full capacity."

Jiraiya grinned, "Deal."

*****BREAK*****

Naruto went out in the village without his haori. Everyone still knew who he was but they were less likely to fawn over him when he didn't have it on. It had been over a month since he had been able to dine in the greatest restaurant in the elemental nations. So when he arrived at Ramen Ichiraku it was with an appetite. It was also a bit of stability; they didn't treat him any differently when they learned about his heritage. He was still just Naruto not, "Namikaze-sama."

Naruto had finished one bowl when he was spotted by a pair of girls who had been in his academy class. They had failed t heir genin test and had dropped out of the shinobi program. One squealed and pointed, "Naruto-kun it's so good to see you!" The other girl took a seat on the other side of Naruto. Naruto frowned at them, "Naruto-kun? I thought my name was 'baka' or was it 'loser' eh it was probably both."

The girl had the decency to blush. "That was different, I was young and now I see how great you really are!" 'Is this what Sasuke had to put up with? Now I understand why he was so moody all the time!' To the girls he said, "I'm enjoying my meal and I don't want your company right now, please leave."

The other girl jumped right in, "Oh don't be like that Naruto-kun we just got here and we haven't talked in ages." Naruto was getting irritated much to the amusement of Ayame. "I'm not interested. Go away." Only they didn't, they kept on jabbering about how much they missed him and wanted to talk to him and get to know him. Naruto put down some money in frustration and used a shunshin to get away from them.

Sasuke grinned as he hopped down next to Naruto. "Having fun Naruto?" Naruto gave him a withering glare, "They won't take the hint! Can't they see they are just pissing me off more?" Sasuke laughed at his friend's plight. It really was humorous.

Naruto growled, "Stop laughing at me teme!"

That just made Sasuke laugh harder. Sasuke rarely laughed or smiled. He had done so more now that he formed bonds with team seven. But this? He hadn't laughed this hard since before the massacre. That thought did stifle some of his humor. Naruto saw it in Sasuke's eyes.

"What is it?"

"Nothing I just find your current situation amusing."

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

Sasuke gave Naruto a long look and finally said, "I was just thinking how I hadn't laughed so hard since before the massacre. And that brought me back to what matters. Kakashi is having us take it easy for the week but I shouldn't be doing that. My clan still has to be avenged. I shouldn't be laughing like I don't have a care in the world when my damned brother is still out there."

"We'll get him Sasuke. You know we aren't strong enough yet. Kakashi-sensei says that Itachi is even stronger than he is."

Sasuke wore a look of frustration, "I know that! That's why we should be doing real training! I don't mind helping our fellow shinobi get stronger but fighting at half speed isn't going to help me get to the next level."

"It's a week Sasuke. And you never know when we go after Itachi they might be with us. Kakashi told us he's travelling with another S class shinobi from the mist."

"Hnn."

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Don't start that again! Kakashi told us not to do additional conditioning and training to rest our bodies. But that doesn't mean you can't be improving yourself. Make a clone and sit in with Sakura as she works with my clones on making a fresh batch of specialized seals."

Sasuke agreed to the suggestion and made a Kage Bunshin to go with Naruto. Sasuke's reserves had grown significantly in the past year. Chakra was no longer an issue with creating shadow clones for him though he would never be able to replicate Naruto's massive numbers.

Sasuke sent a pair of clones to watch and help with the seal construction.

"And now it's time for me to finish my ramen."

"Not worried about fan girls Naruto?"

Naruto formed a perfect Henge to turn into a nondescript shinobi a few years older than this actual age. "Not at all, want to join me?" Sasuke shrugged, "No I have something else I need to do." Naruto shrugged and went on to the ramen stand.

After beginning his first bowl of fresh ramen two different girls approached. "Naruto-kun why are you hiding beneath that illusion?" The other girl added, "Yeah let's see your handsome face!" Naruto blinked in surprise. 'How did they know?'

Naruto then had a flash of insight. Sasuke had seen him put on his disguise. He must have told other fan girls where he was and how he was disguised!

"SASUKE I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

*****BREAK*****

Onoki trembled with rage. The Akatsuki had refused him! He had offered a bounty that bordered on the ridiculous. At first he had thought they were just trying to weasel a higher price but when he had doubled his already astronomically high price he realized they were firm. They were not going to take the job.

The rage of the Tsuchikage was a terrible thing. His temper had been feared by many but he had never killed one of his own shinobi. He did on that day. He murdered several of his advisors and his indiscriminate blasts of his **Jinton** (Dust Release) killed others. Now shinobi trembled and feared his shadow.

Kitsuchi confronted Onoki. "Father what have you done? You have turned your hand against loyal shinobi of the village!" Onoki glared at his son, "They were traitors or incompetents. How else can you explain how the Namikaze escaped the trap? We need to root out the spies in our midst." Kitsuchi looked on with worry. He was paranoid; something had becoming unhinged in the mind of the Tsuchikage.

Kitsuchi tried another tack, "Your own granddaughter is afraid to approach you. You need to calm down. I was there on the battlefield. It was a trap by Konoha, there was no treachery. There were three S ranked shinobi waiting for us!"

Onoki clenched his fists and tried to calm down. Kitsuchi pressed on, "Perhaps it would be best if you delegated some of your responsibilities. Maybe you can use the extra time to plan how you want to deal with the Namikaze." Onoki glared at his son, "Don't coddle me boy, I'm still the Tsuchikage." Kitsuchi bowed his head.

Onoki looked at the debris his destruction had wrought. While his jutsu destroyed things down at the atomic level if it struck only part of a building the rest would collapse casing the wreckage he was now looking at. Onoki looked down at his hands and now he saw them tremble with something other than rage. What had he done?

"Leave me."

What had he done? He had turned his jutsu on his own people. He had lost hundreds of his best shinobi. His village's morale was its lowest since their shameful defeat in the third Shinobi war. And now his own people feared him.

'What have I done?'

**AN: **As a personal favor could you guys check out Korin's Adventure? My wife started writing fan fiction and she is bummed about the lack of reviews. You can find it under my favorites list. It's a romance/tragedy/girl power D&D centric story. If you could leave an encouraging review for her I'd appreciate it!


	33. Chapter 32: A New Mission

**AN: **Thank you to everyone who reviewed Korin's Adventure!

**Chapter 32: A New Mission**

"Good job Naruto I think you've finally got the hang of the seal," Sakura complimented.

She wasn't actually talking to the real Naruto but since the clone would dissipate and Naruto would get all of the memories she didn't see much of a point in changing the way she spoke. The clone had learned how to perfect the air pressure sealing scroll. All that was left to do was to add in forty kunai and it was battle ready.

Sakura turned her attention back to her own work while the Naruto clone began to repeat his efforts on another scroll. Sakura loved fuinjutsu. It was like a puzzle with infinite combinations. Right now she was busy learning and experimenting with barrier fuinjutsu. Barrier fuinjutsu came in all sizes and varieties. The easiest to create were chakra intensive combinations that physically stopped passage to a location.

At its basic level it could essentially make an invisible wall. However the basic barrier that many budding fuinjutsu minded shinobi studied was highly inefficient. The barrier could easily be broken at a single point or its area was so small that it couldn't protect much of anything. As the formula changed to increase size so did the weakness of the chakra construct.

More advanced forms of the barrier jutsu could be used to deflect attacks away by automatically siphoning energy from the rest of the structure to the point of attack. Still more advanced was adding energies that could strike back at would be attackers. Others provided a layered defense so that one massive strike wouldn't completely collapse the structure. The most advanced form of barrier fuinjutsu was completely hiding the protected area outside of the rest of the worlds space/time location.

Like everything that existed in the shinobi world it wasn't a perfect defense. It still had physical links to the real world that could be severed. However those physical links were often trapped somehow. A trapped barrier anchor could be almost anything, even a physical chakra manifestation like a shadow clone.

The sheer complexity was quite intimidating to Sakura. That type of barrier was master work, on the level of Jiraiya. She figured it would take years of intense study to even begin how to decipher that kind of seal. But that wasn't Sakura's current aim. Her current aim was to create a more combat effective barrier seal that could quickly be used to imprison or alternatively used as a way to shield an area from a particular dangerous attack.

The combination attack involving Kakashi's **Raiton: Jibashi Daino** (Lightning Release: Massive Electromagnetic Murder) got her thinking about how team seven could defend against something like that. On an even larger scale how could Konoha defend against something like that? It would be easy for an S class nin to get past the wall and deliver a devastating attack at the heart of the village.

The only reason it probably wasn't done more often is that most villages wouldn't risk their most powerful shinobi on massacring weaker shinobi and civilians. But who knew what kind of foes the village would fight in the future? In Sakura's mind it would have been easy for someone like Orochimaru to kill hundreds if not thousands of innocents before escaping.

And so Sakura devoted her studies to barrier seals and how they could keep her team and her village safe. 'If I alter the kanji just so, the barrier could be deployed automatically given certain stimuli. It could work on the same principle as a temperature modified storage seal; if the heat rises to a certain threshold it could initiate the fuinjutsu barrier. It would be nearly instantaneous!'

If Sakura's calculations were correct she could plant the fuinjutsu formula on any solid surface where it would lie dormant until a sudden temperature spike. At that time the barrier would form instantly and block the heat of the attack. She was excited and quickly put the finishing touches to the formula. 'I'll anchor it between these two trees to test it.'

She called over one of the Naruto clones and told him to stand in between the trees. The clone looked at her nervously, "This is going to hurt isn't it?" Sakura grinned, "Not if I did it right!"

Some of the other clones looked on with sympathy as their brother was about to be used for one of Sakura's experiments.

Sakura's hands spend through seals as she said **"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu"** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique). From her mouth fire erupted. It headed straight for the hapless Naruto clone who didn't bother dodging. To its surprise the flames slammed into something just a foot away from his face. The Naruto clone blinked in surprise. He didn't even feel the heat of the attack.

"Yes! It worked. Now let's see how many attacks it can take…"

*****BREAK*****

Team eight had sparred off and on with different members of team seven. As the week drew to a close Kakashi had a mission lined up for his team and team eight wanted to have a nice meal together to thank team seven for their assistance.

Of course what starts out as a small gathering can often turn into something larger. Choji heard word about a group dinner and wanted to attend as well. If Choji attended then the rest of the close knit team ten also would be there.

With the size at 12 no one saw an issue if Iruka joined them. Before they knew it quite a few people were in attendance. Tenten, Hayate, Shizune and several other people, some of who didn't even know the teams very well at all! Kakashi grumbled to Kurenai, "Small dinner you said. Invite some friends you said. This is why I try not to be social."

Kurenai waved off his concern, "Don't be like that. I've heard your mission is going to take you out of Konoha for quite some time. They deserve a chance to say goodbye to… well let's just call it half the village." The last part had been completed with a mischievous smile.

Kakashi apparently agreed with the argument since he quieted his complaints and began discussing the training regime of team eight. The more experience jonin then asked Kurenai, "And how is your training going?"

"I'm working on a new Genjutsu that targets the olfactory receptors."

Kakashi was intrigued; making a chakra connection via smell was notoriously difficult. Even audio Genjutsu was easier. As interesting as the Genjutsu could be that wasn't the point of his question.

"New Genjutsu is always useful but I was wondering more specifically about your taijutsu."

Kurenai gave a small shrug, "I keep my body conditioned."

Kakashi shook his head, "That will get you or your team killed. You are Konoha's Genjutsu mistress, I'd hate to see you defeated because you couldn't move fast enough."

The less experienced jonin disliked being judged by Kakashi. It reeked of arrogance since jonin normally didn't critique other jonin when it came to their training regimes. It was impolite and implied that the other jonin wasn't taking their role seriously.

Kurenai thought Kakashi was in fact arrogant in this regard but he had also earned that arrogance. If Kurenai had been there in place of Kakashi during the battle with Iwa she and team seven would have probably died.

"Why are you so concerned about my personal training Kakashi-senpai?"

Kakashi tilted his head a degree and replied, "The jonin in Konoha are lax when it comes to their training. Attempting to point out the flaws in another jonin isn't frequently done. In fact it most would find it insulting and nothing beneficial would come of it."

Kakashi continued his explanation, "You and I have a shared bond since we have helped each other's teams. In addition you have proven your ability to swallow your pride and heed good advice."

"I see," Kurenai replied.

"I imagine you are still miffed at being lectured on your training but this is important. War will come again in our lifetime. I want every Konoha shinobi at their best."

Kurenai accepted the answer and thanked Kakashi. They mingled separately after that. Kakashi wandered over to where Naruto was eagerly talking about the chunin exams in Kumo.

"And then Sakura kicked a guy into his own explosion! The crowd went nuts, believe it!"

Kakashi wasn't concerned about Naruto becoming a killing machine who took pleasure in the destruction of his enemies. He was not a vengeful person himself however the Haze nin had tried to kill Sakura. Naruto had no qualms about celebrating the death of someone who had attempted to kill a teammate. And truth be told it had been a rather spectacular finish.

Kakashi ghosted past that conversation. He saw Sasuke playing a game of Shogi with Shikamaru. The party atmosphere made the game stick out like a sore thumb but the participants didn't care. Sasuke had become fascinated with the game after their little trick in Kumo. A glance at the board showed that Sasuke still had a lot to learn before being able to challenge the likes of a Nara. That said he was taking his loss gamely.

His final student was talking about fuinjutsu with an exasperated Ino.

"All you do is talk about seals! Let's talk about clothes, or what kind of fashion is in Kumo or something. Just please no more fuinjutsu talk!"

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. Sakura's obsession could only be good for the team. A true fuinjutsu specialist was extremely versatile. Sakura was perhaps one of the few people in the history of the elemental nations not carrying the name 'Uzumaki' that had given serious thought and concerted effort to developing battle worthy applications.

Kakashi put a hand on his student's shoulder, "Maa Sakura you've gone on about seals enough for one day. No more fuinjutsu talk or I'll take away all of your ink and paper."

Sakura had a horrified look on her face that caused Ino to burst out laughing.

Moving away before Sakura could voice her indignation Kakashi left the impromptu gathering. Large gatherings had never been his thing, even as a child. There were healthy benefits to bonding, it cemented loyalty between squads and to the village but his loyalty was unshakable so it was not necessary to partake. He had only gone to plant another seed and to be polite.

The night was still young and it would be the perfect time to get some training in. His Sharingan had memorized all of the moves he had observed during the battle with Iwa. Now he relived those battles, extrapolating what his opponents would do if he had changed his tactics. Hatake moved at full battle speed to better create the realism needed.

Shadow clones dissipated too quickly but mud clones could act as good sparring partners and survive a few decent hits. Hours passed as Kakashi relentlessly drilled to eke out new efficiencies or find flaws in his combat style.

Kakashi finished up with a run around the village. It was an intense workout but more importantly it exercised Kakashi's tactical planning and strategic thinking. He had identified two instances where he could have likely ended the fight with Juro earlier. And one instance where he could have taken a serious wound if his opponent had noticed one of his rare mistakes.

Satisfied with his efforts Kakashi settled down at his home to sleep. Tomorrow would be the start of a long term mission and while he wouldn't need to be well rested it was never a good idea to skimp too much on sleep.

*****BREAK*****

In the morning team seven packed for an extended mission. They had said their goodbyes to friends and family (in Sakura's case) and gave every appearance they would not be back for some time. When they left the gates of Konoha Naruto immediately created an army of shadow clones and grouped them off in fours where they then used a Henge to disguise themselves like the full squad. Some headed towards Suna and others headed toward Water country.

The real team seven went merely half a mile away. Two members of the ANBU black ops that Kakashi trusted completely were stationed behind a Genjutsu. Part of the reason why Kakashi trusted them perfectly is because Inoichi had done a thorough mind scan on the four man cell that rotated guarding the hidden entrance.

Team seven dutifully responded with the proper phrase and were then allowed admission into one of Orochimaru's abandoned facilities. These facilities were one of Orochimaru's very first hidden laboratories. It had been tunneled out with Doton jutsu deep underground. Kakashi led the way as they walked down a set of stairs that spiraled down. Deep into the earth the stairs went, it was dark until Kakashi pushed his chakra outward into one of the walls.

The walls began to glow with soft light. Sakura stared with wide eyes. "There are seals on the walls; they turn chakra into ambient light. That's incredibly useful!"

Kakashi nodded, "Orochimaru was not considered Jiraiya's equal with fuinjutsu but he was close. This entire cavern is riddled with fuinjutsu seals. Jiraiya himself reviewed them all for any hidden traps. In addition to light no chakra sense can pierce the walls of the seal. Not even the Byakugan can see through these walls."

Sasuke asked, "Won't they know something his here when they see a great blank space?"

"Yes, which is why Orochimaru built this place so far underground. It is beyond the range of the Byakugan, even if it was directed straight down."

Naruto looked around and saw several work tables with stacks of paper and chakra ink. The cavern wasn't just one room. Past the main work room was another hollow area even larger. Along the walls were a variety of weaponry and medical supplies. A hallway took him to several sleeping quarters as well as a kitchen and library.

"Wow this place is almost as big as the Hokage's tower!"

Sasuke asked, "Why are we down here? I gather this is a place to train but why all the secrecy?"

"Naruto has just revealed himself as the Yondaime's son. Despite the showing in Kumo and the battle with Iwa others will come for him. The world and even Konoha think that we are on a lengthy mission, this is the last place they would expect to find us," Kakashi explained.

"Hnn, I say let them come. Unless they bring an entire army we can take them."

Kakashi frowned, "Do I detect some arrogance? Remember your training, pride and arrogance lead to death." Kakashi pointed to Sakura, "Explain another reason why we wouldn't want assassins coming after us right now."

Sakura glanced at Sasuke and then responded, "Collateral damage. Opponents who think they could handle us will have destructive jutsu at their disposal. If we fight within the village its likely other shinobi and civilians will die."

Kakashi graced her with an eye smile, "Good answer. Naruto give me another reason."

Naruto thought for a bit and finally said, "We can train harder if we don't have to worry about assassins sneaking up on us. We'll probably sleep better too," he finished with a grin.

Kakashi looked at Sasuke who sighed and nodded, "Must you have answer for everything?"

"Yes."

"Hnn."

Naruto twitched. 'Oh no the eye twitch is contagious,' he thought to himself in horror.

"As I was saying," Kakashi continued, "there are a number of seals imbedded in the walls. They are similar to what we use to reinforce the shelters in the mountain where civilians evacuate in case of emergency. This place isn't indestructible but it can take more than a few high powered jutsu before causing a structural problem."

Naruto threw his fist into the air, "Yatta! This place is awesome, believe it!"

Sakura was busy drooling over the seals on the walls and the massive amounts of paper and chakra ink she could use for her scrolls.

Kakashi raised a finger, "One more thing. We aren't off duty. We are actually going to be filling in a role that the Sanin once played. Our team will be a rapid response strike team designed to be used when other shinobi teams run into problems they cannot handle."

Sasuke's face finally cracked into a small smile. He was looking forward to another battle. While he had done well in Kumo and Iwa he felt that he had a long way to go. Training was great but it was the actual heat of battle where he felt his skills could grow the most.

"And thanks to Sakura's accidental fuinjutsu invention we are going to be even faster than the Sanin when responding."

Sakura flushed lightly. It really had been accident. The Godaime had been beside himself though. He had heaped more praise on Sakura than she thought she deserved. Sakura had been trying to devise a way to not just block a Katon attack but to reflect it. She still thought it could work in theory but so far it had been a miserable failure.

The budding fuinjutsu mistress had experimented in numerous ways. She had used two seals to form the anchor between two trees. Her study of barriers had allowed her to alter her initial fuinjutsu formula to compensate for weak spots regardless of where the barrier was struck. The seals working in unison would draw extra chakra from each other as needed.

Not only had the seal she had dubbed 'reflection' fail to reflect the attack it had also not stopped the attack either. It had crashed through the fuinjutsu barrier like it wasn't there. The jutsu had set some of the trees on fire. One of the bits of paper she had used as one of the fuinjutsu anchors on the tree had been burnt. That was irritating because she went through paper and ink like crazy but it had been twice as annoying when the other slip of paper that had acted as the second anchor crumbled to ash.

After using a few un-lady like words she was hit with an epiphany. The second anchor hadn't been touched by the fire. Instead it had been destroyed when the first fuinjutsu anchor had been burnt. She remembered feeling her heart race as she drew the two seals again and then casually lit one paper on fire. Without fail the other one did as well. She had tested distance by having Naruto run one sheet of paper several miles out before destroying it.

Jiraiya had taken it a step further by summoning a toad and having it go back to Mount Myoboku and having it destroyed there. Sure enough the seal was destroyed in his office a few moments later.

Sakura explained this to Naruto and Sasuke. "Hokage-sama has been working Yamanaka-san to the bone. Each jonin and ANBU captain cleared up to this point has one of the chakra papers. The moment they destroy the part of the pair they have our part will also be destroyed alerting us instantly that they are in trouble."

Kakashi added, "It isn't perfect as we may have to guess at their location. Missions don't always go according to plan but it will allow us to head out immediately."

Kakashi took the seals out and pinned them against a wooden table. A dossier of the carrier of the seal and the current mission they were on were placed below each seal. Naruto gasped at the implication. Every single A and S ranked mission the leaf did was to be contained in this room.

'No wonder security is so tight, if an enemy got a hold of this information…' Naruto's thoughts trailed off. An enemy with this information could use it to all but destroy Konohagakure.

Sasuke came to the same conclusion and raised an eyebrow, "Even with all the security measures is this wise?"

His sensei shrugged, "The fuinjutsu seals around here are just as good as the ones in the Hokage's office. No one but Orochimaru knew about this location and we have utterly loyal ANBU patrolling it. Oh and let's not forget the layered Genjutsu. Nothing is perfectly protected but this place is as close to it as we can get."

Mollified the team took some time to unseal of their personal belongings and stake out their rooms. Naruto grinned slyly, "Sakura-chan if you want I can move my bed next to yours…" Sakura rolled her eyes, "You've been around Jiraiya-sama too long if you think that's cute, suave or anything other than the worst joke I've heard."

"Hey pervy sage is the Hokage! I want to be the Hokage so it makes sense if I act like him."

Kakashi's eye twitched violently. Instead of strangling his student he serenely said, "Every person must walk their own path."

Naruto laughed, "That line would work better if I didn't know you stole it from a book."

Kakashi smiled wryly under his mask. The boy had become well read. "Make sure your clones read over all of the mission details. They are also going to be in charge of organizing fresh documentation as it comes in during the morning, noon and at night."

Sasuke came out of his room and asked, "That is a lot of documents to deliver. Won't that make this place less secure?"

Kakashi was proud of how paranoid Sasuke was acting. That was how a shinobi was supposed to act! A true shinobi always examined the situation for dangers. Sasuke was right, having someone deliver documents three times a day was a risk. And these documents especially. Only a jonin would be tasked with such vital documentation and it would be a criminal waste to have a jonin play messenger all day.

"Good thinking Sasuke but we've already figured that part out too."

He explained further, "Jiraiya will have a copy of all of the mission reports and information. He will seal all of them into a scroll. Then he will summon a toad and give the toad the scroll. The toad will return back to his home and then Naruto will summon the toad. From his office three times a day he can pass along information within minutes. We've coordinated the times of day Naruto will need to summon a toad."

The base of operations was stocked with food, water, weapons, ink and scrolls. The light in the cavern that was turned on through a chakra filtered seal mimicked the effects of the sun and preventing the side effects of going without sunlight. Here team seven could train and perfect their individual fighting styles without the worry of assassination attempts.

*****BREAK*****

Hinata was happy for Kiba when he was made a chunin. Now that all three of Kurenai's students were chunin she was afraid her team would break apart. That wasn't the case however. Kurenai explained it to her. "Hinata we are going to be classed as a tracker team. Between Kiba's nose, Shino's bugs and your eyes we are the perfect combination to track someone down. The Hokage won't change that now."

Hinata was happy about that but Kakashi had also taught her to see underneath the underneath. She could disable a person without killing them. Shino and Kurenai could do the same. The team was designed to hunt down missing nin. Her team would specifically be targeting those shinobi who turned their backs on the village. It was dangerous and necessary work but she was concerned about her team. Shinobi who turned their back on their village tended to deadly when cornered.

It would also take her away from the village for extended periods of time. Naruto was already on a long term mission and she would hate to miss crossing paths. Not that Hinata had a choice in the matter or would even speak out about her concerns. She was a shinobi of the leaf and she would player her part in the defense of the village.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto continued training with the kyubi chakra. It was slow going partially due to Naruto's fear of losing control. He had seen the raw destructive power that Han was capable of. While Kakashi hadn't been significantly injured facing the Iwa jinchuuriki he hadn't actually defeated it either. And so progress was sluggish for Naruto. Even after two months of working at it he had yet to develop the third chakra tail that Jiraiya wanted him to master before letting him train with the toads of Mount Myoboku.

That was not to say that all of his training efforts were stymied. He continued to work with the chakra weights and was now moving at a speed that was beginning to rival Maito Gai. He put in a lot of hard work doing it but his main advantage was the rapid healing that eliminated the major weakness of working with weights. Even if he broke a bone it wouldn't have slowed him down for long.

His kenjutsu skill was maturing as well. In raw skill moving at the same speed and strength as Hayate he would have lost but in a real battle Hayate would now be crushed. Naruto paired above average skill with the katana with unbelievable speed. The power of his blows was another devastating factor. Combine that with the ability to channel chakra into his blade to slash apart the vast majority of all other weapons there would be few who can challenge him in a kenjutsu duel.

In anticipation to fighting Itachi Naruto also spent a lot of time refining his ability to detect and stop Genjutsu. He primarily practiced it against Sakura but Kakashi used his Sharingan as well. Kakashi had warned him that even with his ability to fight Genjutsu he should never look Itachi in the eye.

Outside of enhancing his combat ability Naruto received some of the best long term training he could possibly have. He learned how a Hokage assigned missions. With access to volumes of data about missions and the teams assigned to them he was beginning to see into Jiraiya's thought process. Better training to be the next Hokage could not have been asked for.

Sasuke continued to improve with his taijutsu. He was behind Naruto in raw speed and strength due to the kyubi healing advantage. But his ninjutsu was becoming more and more deadly as he rapidly began mastering the backlog of ninjutsu Kakashi had copied with his own Sharingan. In order to help with this third element, Sakura had created tiny strips of paper with a variation of the sealing fuinjutsu. All they carried was water but it allowed Sasuke to pull out water for his Suiton jutsu without being near any natural body of water. The slips of paper had the potential to be damaged in combat but unlike a regular scroll they didn't need to be physically opened, all Sasuke had to do is push a tiny bit of chakra into it and the scroll would open and he could instantly use it for a Suiton jutsu.

Sasuke further refined his ninjutsu by learning how to do one handed seals. Being able to strike in close proximity with a kunai in one hand while the second hand molded chakra for ninjutsu was a deadly combination. Sasuke was pleased with his progress and now considered himself one of the most dangerous shinobi in Konoha. The Uchiha heir had a minor obsession with ranking himself versus others.

Right now the only ones who he felt would be stronger were Kakashi, Jiraiya, Gai and Tsunade. He internally acknowledged that maybe some of the ANBU could be stronger since their abilities were kept mostly secret but of the other jonin he was confident he could win. Asuma had been lax in his training and while a deadly fighter with a number of vicious tricks Sasuke thought his Sharingan would make the difference.

Shikaku Nara was another opponent that he acknowledged could give him trouble. In a straight out fight at a moment's notice he was confident he would crush the wily Nara but if Shikaku had time to prepare who knew what that genius would think of. Clan pride made him dismiss the Hiashi. The Hyuga clan foolishly only fought in one way and that made them susceptible.

He dismissed many of the other jonin as too specialized or not as skilled. He didn't share his thoughts with the rest of the team since Kakashi would go another lecture about 'arrogance' and 'pride.' Sasuke intellectually realized that they could cost him in a fight but that didn't change the fact that he was proud of his abilities. In a real battle he would not get cocky but within his own internal rankings he freely exercised his confidence and saw no harm in doing so.

Sasuke did want to round out his power – all of the great shinobi seemed to have a powerful summon. Tsunade has slugs, Jiraiya has toads, Orochimaru had snakes and Kakashi has dogs. While dogs weren't in the same power tier as the others for an ANBU agent they were incredibly versatile and useful. Sasuke wanted a summoning contract as well.

His options were rather limited. He wanted something that could help him against Itachi; dogs weren't going to cut it. Summoning contracts weren't incredibly common and the creatures being summoned had to agree with to work with the summoner. Sasuke had researched some of the other contract holders in Konoha and had ruled most of them out.

The only two that seemed suitable were the monkey contract currently held by Konohamaru and the snake contract held by Anko. The monkey contract had been in the Sarutobi clan since before the founding of Konoha. It was a long shot but he could make a convincing argument to be added on as a subordinate contract holder just like Naruto had with the toads. If he was to be part of Konoha's heavy combat team wouldn't the monkey contract be a perfect fit?

The snake contract seemed more doable but their most powerful summon seemed extremely difficult to work with. If even someone like Orochimaru had to bribe Manda with a hundred sacrifices it was doubtful he could force compliance or work together toward a mutual goal. Still there were plenty of mindless snakes, some of whom were quite larger that could be useful. Sasuke resolved to talk to both Konohamaru and Anko after they finished their current duties.

Sakura continued to dive into fuinjutsu experimentation and training. If Kakashi didn't force her to continue working on Genjutsu and taijutsu that would be all that she would do all day. Her progress on a reflection barrier was stalled but she had been able to create personalized barriers. Etching the fuinjutsu into the metal on metal platted gloves was a good spot for it. To avoid marring the seal Sakura attached the fuinjutsu formula on the interior side of the metal making it so it was not damaged in regular hand to hand combat.

The seal was activated by the user to create a barrier in front of them roughly five feet in all directions. It would stop almost any jutsu cold however the barrier only lasted for a few moments and it was one use only. Sakura had hoped to go much further in terms of combat applicable fuinjutsu seals. As it was she felt the barrier didn't have much practical use, it was barely faster than a Kawarimi to activate.

Kakashi had chided her on being foolish. He had told her that there were plenty of applications for her barrier. The barrier could actually stop a Chidori, Rasengan and a combined Katon/Futon attack. That had extreme value not just for the shock value but also in cases where there is nothing nearby to substitute with.

Sakura also continued to churn out her storage seal bombs. The scrolls were beginning to stack up and she had over 20 different varieties. Knockout gas, lethal gas, kunai bombs, oil, water and others were now stocked and ready to go. She also worked on miniaturizing the sealing formula as tiny as possible and then having the trigger mechanism be a rush of chakra. By doing this she could have a single clone hold multiple payloads that could trigger all at once.

Two months into their training team seven had their first seal go off indicating that one of the leaf squads was in trouble. In less than a minute the team put on their all black uniform and donned their false ANBU masks. It took another minute to shunshin their way top of the base. The two real ANBU operatives let them pass and team seven sped off quickly to the southeast.

**AN: **I'm not sure where Sasuke found the Hawk summon contract but I assume it was when he was with Orochimaru? It's not like he had any real downtime to pursue learning additional jutsu. Either way I'm probably not going to have him hold the hawk contract and will likely give him the snake or monkey. Any thoughts?

It will be another year before the Akatsuki begins hunting the jinchuuriki however team seven and the Akatsuki are about to cross paths.


	34. Chapter 33: Mission 001-004

**AN: **For some reason I still have people complaining about Naruto's skill set. This seems to center mostly on him not learning new ninjutsu. He doesn't need more ninjutsu. Sasuke and Kakashi are the ninjutsu specialists – Naruto plays the role of heavy bruiser. Be that via shadow clone army, toad summoning or personally laying a beat down with his chakra katana at full speed and strength. I welcome everyone's opinions but he's far from weak. Kakashi wants a well rounded team and Naruto is practically *perfect* for the training Kakashi is having him focus on.

**Chapter 33:** Mission 001-004

Team seven rocketed toward the southeast. Their speed was much faster than a normal team's travel rate. Chakra was constantly being pushed through their system to eke out more velocity. Even with their weights deactivated when they pushed off a tree limb it badly scarred or knocked the branch clean off.

Naruto relayed the information over their short wave radio. "The distress signal came from Hana Inuzuka. She's Kiba's older sister and was just promoted to jonin. She has three chunin under her command and they were on a B ranked mission to investigate what happened to one of our villages near the border. The threat level was suspected to be primarily bandits but back up a few chunin and genin level missing nin."

Sakura frowned, "We need to get there in time. Kiba is just now finally recovering from his mom's death. If Hana dies it would be awful."

Team seven all agreed with that sentiment. Team seven didn't socialize with other teams very often but they had formed a bond with team eight. No one wanted to see another tragedy happen to the Inuzuka family. They poured on the speed eating up the miles at an astonishing rate.

Naruto filled them in with additional details. Choji's older cousin Chakku was a chunin on the squad. The rest of Hana's team was filled out by individuals that team seven didn't personally know. One of the squad specialized in Katon ninjutsu and the other was a taijutsu specialist. Hana herself had some medical ninjutsu, was a beast in combat like all Inuzuka and had three ninken with her. If they ran into trouble it meant that there were jonin level threats in the area.

The landscape blurred past them as they traversed **Hi no Kuni** (Land of Fire). Team seven didn't know it but they completed the trip from Konoha to a border village faster than any shinobi squad in history. As they approached within 20 miles they slowed their brutal pace down. Naruto summoned a swarmed of Kage Bunshin to scout out in all directions.

One of the Bunshin soon found traces of Hana's squad. The terrain in this area was a combination of swamp and forest. Hana's team had holed themselves up in one of the few rocky areas that were drier than the rest of the landscape. Rain clouds could be seen in the distance. While the border region with **Mizu no Kuni** (Land of Water) didn't have as much rain as **Amegakure no Sato** (Village Hidden by Rain) it did take second place in the elemental nations for yearly rainfall.

The clone let out a bird whistle followed by a slightly higher pitched one. From near the cave the required hawk screech response was given. The clone had made contact with Hana's squad. It had Naruto's Kakashi trained eye for traps and easily avoided several of them as he approached the cave. A surprised and limping Hana remarked, "I didn't know an ANBU squad was in the area. Good timing."

"Are there any enemy forces nearby?"

Hana shook her head, "They are all in the village."

"I am a clone I will relay the information to my squad," and with those words the clone dissipated.

It didn't take long for team seven to arrive. Kakashi had Hana report what had happened.

"A couple of days ago a civilian arrived in an interior village with a horrible account of what happened. An army of bandits numbering over 50 took the village by storm and kill almost everyone." Hana swallowed thickly. She was a hardened shinobi but even her voice had a catch in it when she explained further.

"Except they didn't kill everyone, they left some survivors. Children…"

Naruto felt uneasiness spread over his body.

"They… are still alive. Hanging in cages within the village, as best as we can tell they have been like that for days and they aren't being given any food or water. They were dying in those cages. They were trapped hanging in the air without anything to eat or drink." Hana had to pause in her recount before continuing.

"When we saw this I immediately ordered the attack. It was stupid. It wasn't just bandits with a few chunin there were at least two jonin level shinobi and over a dozen chunin."

Naruto felt rage bubble up in his gut. The flash of kyubi chakra was quickly suppressed but not before Hana stepped back. "Naruto? I thought there was a familiar scent in the air."

Kakashi didn't care if Hana and her squad knew that team seven was their relief. He trusted Inoichi's screening program. He did have an issue with Naruto's control. While it was unlikely a sensor shinobi was in the area actively looking for them, if there was one they would have detected the chakra flare.

Sakura asked, "Where is the rest of your team?"

Hana looked down. "Chakku is in the back. Arata and Wakasa didn't make it."

Hana blamed herself for the botched attack. She and two of her ninken had been wounded. Chakku had to use one of the Akimichi food pills and would be useless for the next few days.

"We fought clear on our own but if they had bothered to hunt us down we would have been dead by now."

Kakashi asked for more details. Hana described the attacks and jutsu used. None of the shinobi had worn a forehead protector or had anything that signified their allegiance. The vast majority of their jutsu however was Suiton which strongly implied they were from the Mist village.

Kakashi turned to Naruto and asked, "Thoughts?"

Naruto was still thinking about the kids who were suffering and had to concentrate for a moment before answering his sensei.

"This is a false flag operation. No way would the new Mizukage be stupid enough to provoke a fight with us. The massacre of the village and the open torture of children are designed to incense our nation. They also let at least one civilian go so rumors of this event are already going to be making their way across **Hi no Kuni** (Land of Fire)."

Kakashi nodded, "Solutions?"

Naruto forced his anger aside and modulate his voice. "We kill them. Rescue the children and take a few alive. Through interrogation we can hopefully figure out who is behind this."

"And who do you think is behind it?"

"Not enough information available to make a decision. It could be Iwa who still may want vengeance. It could be Kumo who wants to see us weakened. It could even be minor villages who want to see Konoha shinobi off fighting a war which would allow them to take missions that normally would have gone to us. It may even be those who oppose the new Mizukage and are hoping to have her thrown down."

"I concur. Naruto leave behind half a dozen clones to make sure the area is safe. Sakura layer some Genjutsu in the area. Hana you and Chakku will stay here while we deal with the enemy."

Hana knew Kakashi's reputation. She also knew about the slaughter of the Iwa shinobi. While she was humbled at the idea that another squad could resolve the issue without reinforcements where her squad was crushed, she mostly cared about the children being freed. Being caged like that was an anathema to an Inuzuka.

"Good luck," she said as Naruto quickly made the clones and Sakura efficiently weaved an advanced form of **Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu** (Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique). Sakura hesitated for a moment and then tossed a scroll to Hana.

"What's this?"

"Open it with the seal facing outward. It will launch forty kunai. Each one approximately at the same strength as a jonin can throw one." Hana whistled and took the scroll.

"When we get back to Konoha I'd love to get some more of these. My clan favors close combat, having an alternative like this would be helpful."

Sakura nodded and then joined the rest of her team who moved at a swift pace toward the village.

*****BREAK*****

The plan, like most plans Kakashi and his student's made was simple. Naruto would create a large amount of clones. Their primary objective would be to rescue the children. To avoid any rigged traps on the cages themselves, half of the clones would go with Sasuke and the other half would go with Kakashi. They each had a Sharingan which would easily detect most any kind of trap.

Sakura and Naruto would stay together and confront the enemy shinobi. Kakashi sent a pair of his own shadow clones to the opposite side of the village to hunt down any who tried to flee. Each member of the team was also tasked with capturing at least one enemy shinobi alive.

Their enemy had guards both of the civilian bandit and shinobi variety. None of them realized there were enemies within the village. Kakashi was an assassin and assassins were by nature highly stealthy. As team seven's sensei he had naturally taught his students how to avoid being detected.

The clones quickly butchered the guards. Most of them were civilian bandits but the lone chunin level opponent who was out there was also butchered by a blindingly fast slash across the throat. Shinobi started to trickle out and the alarm was raised. Sasuke and Kakashi quickly disarmed the few traps that had been set. Most cages were not trapped and their occupants were quickly rescued by the clones.

A group of 20 or so civilian level opponents backed by a few chunin level shinobi charged at Naruto and Sakura. Civilian level bandits could still be a threat to a shinobi. But bandits were never a threat to shinobi of team seven's caliber. Naruto flashed through the hand seals and launched a **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) into the mass of them. The damage was considerable a few had broken necks and many of the others were severely bruised or had other broken bones.

One of the chunin began his own ninjutsu but to the shock of his companions the **Suiton**: **Suiben** (Water Release: Water Whip) lashed into his comrade slicing through his torso and delivering a fatal wound. Sakura's Genjutsu had taken hold and he readied the same jutsu against his comrade who danced backward yelling at him that he was under a Genjutsu. Naturally Sakura's control was skilled enough that she made it so that piece of sound was never actually heard by her victim.

Naruto made a dozen more clones who charged after other shinobi who were drawn to the fight. They finished the still screaming chunin and Sakura knocked out the one she had placed under a Genjutsu. Naruto caught a memory from his clones. The chunin they were fighting had already lost several to the clones but they apparently had a couple of jonin level shinobi who were starting to fight back. One of whom was a massive man with a sword that was as large as Zabuza's.

Naruto recalled him from one of the old bingo books. The man known as the '8th swordsman" had been passed over for selection into the **Kiri no Shinobigatana Shichinin Shu** (Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist) three times in favor of someone else. After the third time he had left the village in a rage and became a missing nin.

Naruto and Sakura drifted toward where the jonin was fighting his clones. Once in range Sakura tried to put him under a Genjutsu but to his credit he resisted the false images and sensations. Naruto sucked in air and used the seals for **Futon: Shinkugyoku** (Wind Release Vacuum Bullets) however instead of exhaling the deadly bullets drew his katana and dashed forward at near top speed.

The large swordsman felt him coming and hastily parried the deadly strike. Naruto's strength shocked the man as his blade was pushed downward and away from his body. Naruto exhaled and sprayed the air bullets at point blank range. The A ranked missing nin showed fast reflexes for his bulk and managed to avoid being fatally injured. He may not have been fatally injured but that only delayed his death for a moment. One bullet had clipped his shoulder, another took off his ear and a third had smashed into his ribs.

After exhaling the vacuum bullets Naruto had not stopped his assault. His katana shimmered with Futon energy and struck at his opponent. The missing nin tried to get his massive cleaver like blade into position but the shock of his wounds slowed his reaction and Naruto easily slice the chakra conducting blade through the man's chest.

Resistance in that area ended after that. Some tried to run but none of them where faster than Naruto's clones. One of the clones made sure to capture an enemy alive. A few moments later Sasuke and Kakashi arrived on the scene each with an unconscious nin being carried by Naruto clones.

Kakashi did one last sweep around the village with his Sharingan, "It's clear. Naruto have the clones carry the kids back to Hana. She's competent with medical ninjutsu."

The children were not in great condition but it could have been worse. It had only been a few days trapped in those cages so they were all hungry. Dehydration was a factor as well but that too could have been worse. It had rained the previous day and the children had awkwardly been able to drink some of the rainfall.

Naruto was relieved that the kids would be physically OK but the mental pain they suffered must have been terrible. They had seen their parents slaughtered. Then they had been left to die in cages. To slowly starve and thirst while sitting in their own waste must have been both terrifying and terribly degrading.

Naruto made some clones to fan out for protection and then told Kakashi he needed some air. Sakura went after him.

"Naruto wait."

"I can't be in there seeing their faces. How can anyone do this? They are just kids!"

Sakura could see tears leaking down from out of the ANBU mask that covered the young jinchuuriki. She pulled her own mask off and quietly said, "This world is full of evil. I hate killing but if we didn't come here and kill them those kids would still be suffering and then they would have died a slow lingering death. This is what makes all the blood on our hands worthwhile. They can live because of us. Hold onto that Naruto!"

Naruto lowered his own mask and let it drop to the ground. Tears wet his cheeks.

"I… it was so hard Sakura-chan. I was able to do it, not a bit of the kyubi hatred leaked out in the village but… I… I heard a voice. It wanted me to kill. It wanted me to rip all of those missing nin to shreds. I almost couldn't stop it. I honestly don't know if it was the fox or my own voice."

Sakura rushed forward and enveloped Naruto in a hug.

"It's OK Naruto. You held it back."

Naruto hugged Sakura back and whispered, "It was close, too close."

Sakura gently pushed him away. "No it wasn't. You didn't even leak any chakra. You're too hard on yourself. This would have pushed anyone to vengeance."

Naruto looked at Sakura. She had said the words with utmost confidence. Her belief in him filled him with renewed self confidence. In one of the most horrifying sights he had ever seen he had kept a hold of the fox's chakra and didn't let a single red strand of it out.

'Sakura is right, I can do this!'

Naruto being Naruto was instantly as right as rain. And when Naruto's conviction and confidence was restored his prankster heart was revealed. Kakashi had trained all of his students on deception, controlling body language and expressions. Naruto still tended to react first before controlling his body but he was just as good as the next shinobi when not being reactive.

Naruto's lip trembled. "R-really? Do you really think I can do it?"

Sakura nodded again and Naruto moved to hug her saying, "Thank you… thank you Sakura-chan!" Sakura hugged her teammate back and then felt Naruto's hand slide down her backside and onto her posterior.

Sakura's eyes grew wide and she shoved the now laughing Naruto away. "You pervert! I'm trying to comfort you and you grab my…" Sakura couldn't seem to get the words out of her mouth. She stalked back to the cave in angry huff. Kakashi had caught the whole scene and was laughing on the inside but wisely said nothing.

He would have to talk to Naruto as that really was inappropriate behavior. Jiraiya was obviously to blame as he was proving to be a terrible role model. The poor boy probably thought groping women you liked was an acceptable form of courtship. Sakura was furious and Kakashi stopped her before entering.

"Two things Sakura. One, the children inside have been through hell, an angry face might scare some of them. Two, remember Naruto looks up to Jiraiya. I'll talk to him and make sure there isn't a repeat occurrence."

Sakura nodded tightly and sat down allowing herself to calm down before reentering the large part of the cave.

They would be moving the kids back to the village after the Naruto clones removed all of the dead bodies and blood. They would wait for a couple of chunin teams to arrive to take over and then they would head back to Konoha.

Kakashi was proud of his team. Despite the horrible situation none of them had lost their cool and violated orders. They had four captives and Kakashi was going to recommend Ibiki be the first interrogator

'Inoichi has worked a lot of extra hours clearing all of the jonin who had been given the distress seals. He really does deserve a break. Good thing we have other methods of interrogation.'

*****BREAK*****

Team seven had returned to Konoha to resume their rapid response duties. The information from the captives was not particularly helpful outside of clearing the Hidden Mist Village. The shinobi were all once part of the Mist who had been independently contacted for a mission that provided S rank pay. Attack a village, massacre and torture the residents. Wait until a significant force of shinobi arrived and sneak into Water Country.

The plan was simple but effective. The shinobi would be very tempted to hunt down the monsters who had butchered their citizens. And if they crossed the border the new Mizukage would have to respond or lose all credibility as a competent leader. War could have been sparked despite both the Hokage and the Mizukage not wanting it. If the Konoha shinobi didn't cross the border war could still occur without careful diplomatic discussions.

In the end the rapid arrival of team seven foiled the plot. The perpetrators were punished and the interrogation absolved the Hidden Mist village. What they didn't learn was who actually hired the diverse band of missing nin.

With nothing more to do Kakashi continued to push his team in their training. Sakura kept her promise and gifted the Inuzuka clan with a 100 air pressurized kunai scrolls. With renewed confidence Naruto began drawing more kyubi chakra and kept the rage and hate that came with it contained. He was close to mastering the third tail which would then open up Sage training.

In the next two months team seven was called upon an additional two times. Their second mission proved a false alarm. The border guards thought a large group of shinobi from Kumo was attempting to enter into **Hi no Kuni** (Land of Fire). And while there was definitely a large group of Kumo shinobi it was but a probing effort. Since none of them crossed the actual border no conflict took place. Kakashi disliked the possible information the Cloud nin had learned from the effort but there was little that could be done.

The third mission involved a conflict with **Tanigakure no Soto** (Village Hidden in Valleys). A team of three chunin and Aoba Yamashiro a special jonin had been assigned to capture a noble who had been exiled from **Hi no Kuni** (Land of Fire) on the orders of the daimyo. The noble had disgraced himself with deals involving illicit drug traffickers. It was only after he relocated to **Kawa no Kuni** (Land of Rivers) that the true extent of his crimes was discovered. The noble had assassinated a number of rivals and it was only later that his actions had come to light. Some of his trade rivals had been nobility themselves and their deaths were inexcusable.

The Hokage had tried to negotiate with Tanigakure however they had been obstinate. Jiraiya was unwilling to wage war even if Konoha could have crushed the smaller village. Instead he had ordered a team to infiltrate the country and assassinate the exiled noble. Team Aoba had been sent and managed to cross the border without a problem. However when they spied on their target they learned he had a dozen shinobi and a score of samurai trained soldiers.

The term samurai trained did not imply they held to the code of loyalty and ethics that the samurai had become known for. It meant that they could focus chakra into their weapons. Since they could mold chakra they could typically move faster than civilians and had greater stamina. Generally they tended to fight at the level of mid to high genin though there were exceptions.

Aoba didn't like the team's chances but this was a high profile mission. The mission request came from the feudal lord himself. Reluctantly he used the distress tag and several hours later he was surprised to see four ANBU operatives before him.

He didn't comment about the speed of their arrival and instead quickly broke down the situation. Kakashi considered having Sasuke complete the mission personally as training but he held to his familiar adage, missions were not training. They were missions; while it was productive to allow subordinates an opportunity to formulate a plan the potential success of the mission was paramount.

In this case Kakashi chose to go by himself. He left team seven with Aoba and personally infiltrated and carried out the assassination. The chunin level shinobi he had surrounded himself didn't even know he was there until after the deed was complete. Afterwards Aoba's team and his team left the Land of Rivers without further incident. Tanigakure was in no position to do anything about the incursion. The easy incursion past their borders and a dozen chunin guards also made them hush the details of what happened lest potential clients stop doing business with them.

Sasuke had been disappointed by the lack of combat. They had responded to three distress signals and only one of them had any fighting. And that had been no real challenge. Sasuke didn't know it but he was about to get his wish.

*****BREAK*****

Hinata had been correct; team eight was to be used almost exclusively as a hunter team. They were excellent at tracking down missing shinobi. Kiba and Akamaru only needed the scent and then there was no getting away. Hinata could detect almost any sort of ambush or trap their quarry could setup. Team eight was good at what they did so when **Kusagakure** (Hidden Grass Village) offered Konoha a mission for a premium to hunt down one of their missing nin it was Kurenai's team that was selected.

The mission was to hunt down a jonin that had stolen something extremely valuable to Kusa. The mission specifics did not go into detail. It could have been an artifact, a kinjutsu, information or really anything. The priority was his capture and safe return to Kusa. The parameters allowed him to be injured but not maimed. The difficulty of the mission was A, but Kusa was offering S rank pay. In addition they would receive absolutely nothing if the missing nin was killed.

The target's name was Mutsu. His skills showed that he was average in ninjutsu, skilled in taijutsu and lackluster in Genjutsu. In short he was the ideal target for team eight. It was not an easy hunt however. He was far from Kusa when they picked up the trail. Deep on the eastern side of **Hi no Kuni** (Fire Country) Kurenai's team caught up with him.

The fight wasn't much of one. Kiba and Hinata charged in from opposite sides. Mutsu threw a hail of shuriken at Hinata and turned to face Kiba and Akamaru. Hinata easily deflected all of the projectiles and dashed forward. The missing nin missed Kiba completely due to the Genjutsu he was under. Kurenai had opted for a more subtle approach which made her Genjutsu harder to detect. With the easy opening Kiba got in several good blows before Mutsu could break the Genjutsu.

Battered as he was he was an easy target for Hinata to finish off with Juken strikes. He collapsed to the ground with his chakra pathways blocked. Shino had been ready to have his swarm descend on him but it was unnecessary. Instead Shino attached the chakra blocking manacles on him.

Kiba had asked previously why they couldn't just seal him in a scroll and he had received in impromptu lecture from Kurenai. "You don't know much about fuinjutsu do you? A dead shinobi can be sealed into a scroll easily. The dead don't have chakra. A living creature has chakra and that will interfere with a storage scroll. The containment could break or it could even kill the occupant."

Kiba had flushed, "How was I supposed to know? Putting criminals in storage scrolls is common in stories!" Kurenai laughed softly, "Kiba you shouldn't trust every story. However those stories are based on true events."

"Huh you just said…"

Kurenai had held up her hand, "A fuinjutsu master like Jiraiya-sama could develop a seal on the fly that takes into account the victim's chakra. Also civilians and genin have very little chakra which makes it mostly safe. I'm not a fuinjutsu specialist and our target isn't a genin so we'll have to do it the old fashion way."

Kiba of course was the person who was responsible for carrying him. His strength and stamina were highest on the team. They bound their victim and began their trek toward Kusa. It was only an hour or two in their journey that Hinata gasped. "Two shinobi are heading straight for us. One is very strong the other…" Hinata trailed off, she wasn't quite sure how to describe what she was seeing. The man with the triple bladed scythe had the most ominous chakra she had ever seen. It wasn't powerful per se, it just looked _wrong_.

Kurenai paused and veered course. Hinata reported they were following. She called for a halt. "Let's see who it is. We are in our own lands if they are enemies we at least need to know about them."

They picked their position and waited for the two figures to emerge. Kurenai stiffened as soon as she saw the black cloaks with red clouds. There was a standing flee on sight order for the Akatsuki. She signaled her team subtly.

The first figure was a tall man with his face covered wearing a hitai-ate with a line slashed through symbolizing his missing nin status from **Takigakure** (Hidden Waterfall Village). If a missing nin blatantly wore their hitai-ate like that declaring for all the world their status as a missing shinobi it meant they weren't afraid of enemies hunting them. His green eyes were unsettling and Kurenai had to suppress a shudder.

The second figure was of lesser stature but had his weapon drawn and ready. Silver hair and purple eyes were an odd combination. The distinctive look made Kurenai recognize him from an old bingo book. The man was Hidan and his bounty had already been collected years ago. Kurenai strained her memory trying to remember what his abilities were. All that she could remember was that he was a religious fanatic that had been wanted for starting a cult in **Yu no Kuni** (Land of Hot Water) that practiced human sacrifice.

"Why are you trailing our team and what are you doing in Fire Country?"

Hidan laughed and twirled his scythe. "Jashin likes the pretty ones. Let me have her Kakuzu."

Kakuzu shook his head. "Her bounty is pathetic. We might get something for that brat's eyes but it isn't worth the effort. Bringing him back alive will net us far more."

Kakuzu turned to Kurenai, "I don't want to risk damaging the merchandise. Give up your prize and we'll let you live." Kakuzu flared his killing intent with a force that could be felt even half a mile away where the real Kurenai and team eight were at that moment tree hopping away from the scene.

Kakuzu blinked and then flushed his chakra breaking the Genjutsu. Hidan shrieked, "Detecting Genjutsu is your job!"

Kakuzu snarled, "Shut up."

Kakuzu was highly skilled at detecting Genjutsu. He considered Genjutsu one of the few possible ways he could be defeated. His **Doton**: **Domu** (Earth Release: Iron Skin) made him all but impervious to physical attacks. His ninjutsu with his hearts released was second to none. His battle experience and intelligence were also factors he had considered when it came to his abilities. But Genjutsu that was a danger, with it he couldn't activate his Iron Skin; with it he couldn't use his formidable ninjutsu.

Kakuzu despised weakness and had trained to detect and break Genjutsu for decades. To be caught by some relatively no name shinobi was humiliating. If the kunoichi had come closer and actually tried to attack he would have detected it far sooner. If he hadn't blatantly underestimated her he probably also would have seen through it.

Nonetheless he would keep all of his senses at full alert. She would not be able to use the same trick twice not against a shinobi of his stature.

Team eight didn't have much of a lead on the nukenin. It was fortunate for them that being trained as a tracker squad each of them had worked on their tree hopping and overland speed. On the downside none of them were as swift or had as much chakra to burn as their pursuers. Kiba was going strong for now but eventually the extra weight of their captive would begin to tire him.

Kurenai instructed her team to quickly lay traps as they fled as she destroyed the fuinjutsu distress seal. Kurenai dropped a hasty Genjutsu to cover the explosive seals planted on likely tree branches to push off of. Shino and Hinata strung ninja wire between the two of them and the trees. Unlikely to cause any real harm but it could slow them a step or two.

Kiba landed briefly on the ground and quickly used the hand seals to bring up an earth clone. After doing so he quickly picked up Mutsu and chased after the rest of his team. Hinata watched as the two reached the first of their traps. The ninja wire was detected and either avoided or simply cut down with one sweep of the scythe. The missing nin from Takigakure shouted a warning to his partner. Hidan merely laughed and continued on only to hit the explosive tag on the tree limb that was hidden under Kurenai's Genjutsu.

The explosion tore his foot to shreds and he rolled onto to the ground. "Fuck them! Divine judgment will come down on these heathens. WAIT FOR ME!" Hinata was too far away to hear the words but she could read lips and the Byakugan could make out most of it. Kakuzu slowed for a moment while Hidan picked himself up. Hinata was shocked that in less than a minute Hidan's foot had completed healed!

She relayed the information to Kurenai. Kurenai was getting extremely worried. Regeneration was a powerful tool; it was one of the reasons that Tsunade of the Sanin was so feared. She urged her team to move faster.

The pair continued their hunt. When they came within sight of the Kiba mud clone he opened the scroll the real Kiba had given it. The scroll opened and three dozen kunai lashed out at the two pursuing shinobi. Hidan really didn't need to deflect them but did so anyway easily manipulating his scythe to scatter all of the offending projectiles. Kakuzu merely hardened his skin and suffered only a few pockmarks in his Akatsuki uniform.

Hidan charged at the mud clone twirling his scythe as he moved. The Kiba clone dodged backward and barely avoided being hit. Hidan was much faster than the clone. Realizing this, the clone decided to use its remaining chakra before being ripped to pieces anyway.

**"Doton: Doryu Taiga"** (Earth Release: Earth Flow River)

The ground beneath Hidan transformed into mud but he was too quick to be caught in the attack. Instead his scythe was already slashing horizontally ripping into Kiba's mud clone. Between the jutsu and the scythe ripping through its body the clone collapsed.

"Damn it! Cowards!" Hidan was furious at their tricks.

Kakuzu ignored his partner's antics and continued chasing team eight carefully probing forward with his senses to ensure another Genjutsu did not snare him.

Hinata again relayed the information. Their stalling tactics were not proving to be effective. The young Hyuga heiress did some quick calculation in her head. At their current speed without distractions the enemy would catch up in less than 15 minutes. Their arsenal of tricks was finite too. Kiba couldn't make many mud clones and they were running low on ninja wire, explosive tags and other trap making items.

While she thought about their darkening chances of getting away Shino instructed a third of his allies to form a bug clone. Shino dropped the last of his explosive tags at the feet of the clone. These had to be manually activated so he would be depending on Hinata to signal him when the time was right to trigger them.

When Hidan spotted what he thought was one of his targets he gave a whoop and veered off.

Kakuzu snarled, "Idiot it's a distraction. Keep moving."

Hidan glowered at his partner but listened to him. The kikaichu made up clone desperately tried to chase but the bugs were not fast enough. Hinata shook her head, a third of Shino's swarm was now hopelessly behind their enemies and would unlikely be able to make it to the fight in time to change anything.

Hinata spoke up, "Kurenai-sensei they are going to catch up to us soon. Should we let the prisoner go?"

Kiba spoke up, "What? No way! The village will think we are cowards. We should turn and fight them it's five on two!"

Kurenai thought about the ramifications of what could happen. If they let the prisoner go the leaf would look weak in the eyes of anyone who knew about the mission. Kusa wanted the prisoner alive it was possible the Akatsuki were also going to take the prisoner back to the Hidden Grass village. Of course it was also possible that someone else wanted to interrogate the prisoner. Given that that Kusa was offering S ranked pay, whatever Mutsu had stolen must be important. Relations between Kusa and the Leaf could quickly sour if they just gave up on the mission.

The Genjutsu mistress frowned thoughtfully. This scenario was similar to Sakumo Hatake's dilemma. On the one hand she could ensure her comrades survival and or she could risk her student's lives to attempt to complete the mission. Sakumo had chosen the lives of his comrades and had been ostracized for it.

A multiple of variables swam through her mind as her team of chunin continued to race away from the threat.

'I won't let my team die for this mission but I won't give up without a fight.'

"Kiba in a few minutes I need you to make a pair of Earth clones. Shino use your kikaichu to create another bug clone. Head out at top speed toward Konoha. Hinata rest a bit at the edge of your Byakugan vision and then catch up to the team and report what happened. If I can I'll catch up." She paused for a lingering moment, "If they catch up to you despite what I'm planning to do give them the prisoner."

The swarm around Shino buzzed in agitation. Shino was the first on the team to speak up, a rarity given that Kiba was his teammate. "Sensei this is illogical. We have a better chance if we stay together."

"We aren't going to leave you behind," Kiba shouted. Akamaru also barked showing his support.

"Sensei…" Hinata trailed off.

Kurenai looked at her team, her very first genin team who were now all chunin. She loved their loyalty but this was the way it had to be.

"My plan is to slow them down and lead them away from your flight path. They don't want me I'm a secondary objective at best."

They voiced additional objections but Kurenai was firm. "You are shinobi of the Konohagakure! I cherish the loyalty you have but now I need you to obey my orders."

Kiba growled but dropped to the ground and made the two earth clones. His chakra reserves were getting low. Having to make clones that could fight and constantly use chakra to push himself at top speed while carrying a shinobi was stressing even his stamina. He handed the clones each one of Sakura's kunai scrolls.

Shino likewise had his allies form into another bug clone. Hinata used the last of the ninja wire and all but one of her exploding tags to trap the easiest ways around Kurenai's position.

"Now go, you don't have time to waste," Kurenai ordered.

Kiba hoisted Mutsu and quickly left before his sensei and teammates could see the hot tears in his eyes. Shino bowed his head acknowledging Kurenai's actions. Hinata forcefully took control of her body and refused to show weakness just like Kakashi taught her.

"Kurenai-sensei, I know you sometimes think you don't live up to the other jonin like Kakashi, Gai or Asuma but you're wrong. You are a strong kunoichi and I wouldn't trade you for any of them. Please don't die." And with that Hinata left Kurenai alone with the clones.

**AN: **As always please read and review! A few guest reviewers had some questions that I'll answer.

**Will Sai be in the story?** Sorry no plans to incorporate Sai into the story. Sorry! At this point I do believe Sai's brother has died but I either way outside of a cameo I don't think he'll get any 'screen' time.

**Is Naruto's speed being close to Gai's speed realistic?** Someone had a concern that Naruto shouldn't be close to Gai's speed. I disagree – Naruto has been training with his weights for two years now. Two years is an eternity in anime world. (This is the same world where Sasuke is significantly weaker than non-gated Lee and after one month of training he is able to surpass him. This is the same world where Naruto learns powerful jutsu in a couple of days). And he gets much more out of weight training than Lee does because he can push himself further than Lee can due to how quickly his muscles heal. I also consider speed to give diminishing returns at some point. IE most of the improvement in speed comes in the early part of training – after that you still get faster but it's not the huge leap. Otherwise every jonin fight would be a blur resolved in 3 seconds. And finally the comment assumed Base Naruto speed vs. Base Gai speed. Gai with the gates is still faster than Naruto even with the kyubi cloak. Also speed is HUGE but skill also plays a part and Gai is much more skilled in taijutsu.

**Who knows about Itachi?** Jiraiya knows but Kakashi does not. At some point this does become an issue.

**Summoning Contracts?** Wow I didn't think there would be that many opinions on it. Thank you for providing input I'm going to think about it some more. My original leaning was the monkey contract which would have given Sasuke a weapon that is damn useful in a number of situations. But… Anko giving him the snake contract adds more interaction options. I was surprised by how many people love the Hawks!

**Will Naruto learn Fuinjutsu? **He is learning it; you see this because his clones are helping Sakura. Sakura will be on the bleeding edge of creating new seals and in using them but Naruto is going to be the assembly line that allows the mass production.


	35. Chapter 34: Hidan and Kakuzu

**AN: **I appreciate all of the reviews.

I'm going to start recommending other fan fictions that I've read and enjoyed in each chapter – a way to share good fictions. Right now I'm reading Black Cloaks, Red Clouds by **Archontruth**. The story is heavily AU. It's set in a world that explores what Konoha would be like if Orochimaru took the reins of power. Tenten is the main character. The quality is absolutely amazing and I highly recommend it.

**Chapter 34: **Hidan and Kakuzu

Team seven raced toward the eastern portion of their nation. Naruto had informed them that it was team eight that was in trouble and they were determined to get there in time. Kakashi was actually concerned about what team eight must have encountered. He had overseen their training and their teamwork was impressive. Team eight was essentially impervious to ambushes which meant they had run across shinobi who in an open fight were just plain stronger.

Kakashi advised Naruto, "Make a few clones every fifty miles; we need to cast a wide net. Team eight's target would have been on the move." Teams on long missions would check in at villages and send messenger hawks back to their home village. Unless of course the mission was covert. This meant that team seven had a rough idea where team eight should be.

Naruto did as instructed and poured on the speed. Everyone was worried about team eight. Even Sasuke was concerned however he was also excited at the prospect of facing a real foe. All of them hoped they would make it in time.

*****BREAK*****

As soon as Hidan and Kakuzu appeared Kurenai weaved a Genjutsu that showed dozens of kunai raining down on them all with explosive tags. She carefully observed how Hidan laughed and lashed out at the faux projectiles. Kakuzu didn't flinch in the slightest.

'The loud one will have to be my target,' she thought to herself.

The bug clone leapt at Hidan who scythed through it easily. Since they were actually made up of kikaichu it didn't hurt more than a couple of them. The rest swarmed around the scythe wielder and attempted to drain him of his chakra. They succeeded in draining some chakra but then promptly died, their insect bodies twitching madly.

Kakuzu charged at Kurenai moving at an impressive speed. One of the Kiba mud clones used **Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu** (Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu) to try to drag him into the ground. Kakuzu was too fast and when he felt the chakra gather he simply avoided the up thrust hands.

Kurenai used the body substitution jutsu to replace her body with a log. The log came from where the mud clone had risen from the earth. The red eyed jonin blurred through hand seals and used another Genjutsu. She targeted Hidan who was obviously less adept at detecting it. The vision that clouded his eyes inverted her and Kakuzu's positions. Hidan slashed forward at Kakuzu who dodged the sudden strike.

"Break the Genjutsu," Kakuzu's deep voice barked at Hidan.

Kurenai launched a real kunai with an explosive tag at Kakuzu's back as he tried to dodge the speedy scythe. The missing nin was hit by it blasting part of his clothing away. His skin was unmarred underneath it. Kakuzu dodged another strike and then placed his palm on Hidan and forcefully disrupted the Genjutsu with his own chakra.

Hidan looked stupidly around for a moment.

"Heh sorry about that."

Kurenai backed away heading north, away from the rest of her team. Hidan immediately charged after her. She used **Magen: Jubaku Satsu** (Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death) to pin him in place while the Kiba clone used the fuinjutsu scroll to launch kunai in a hail of death. Hidan was struck by at least twenty kunai. His upper torso was riddled with them but the pain allowed the Genjutsu to be broken.

"Hell that hurts I'm going to kill all of you!"

Kakuzu ignored his partner's complaints and raced toward Kurenai. Again Kurenai used the replacement jutsu to try to get away however Kakuzu had his senses attuned to her chakra and knew instantly where she was going. He used a shunshin to appear right in front of her and coated his arm with earth chakra delivering a vicious punch toward her chest.

Kurenai tried to twist away but Kakuzu was faster and nailed her across the shoulder. She gave a grunt of pain and rolled with the blow. Kakuzu came on and launched a quick kick to the side. Not able to dodge this one at all Kurenai blocked with her arm and felt it break. She allowed the blow to send her flying into the foliage.

Before Kakuzu could pursue both mud clones launched a quick **Gatsuga** (Fang over Fang) at Kakuzu. Their bodies rotating at incredible speeds and the drilling power struck Kakuzu like a ton of bricks. Due to Kakuzu's earth jutsu that protected his body from physical attacks he was not harmed. However the sheer momentum of the attack launched him off his feet and slammed him into a nearby tree. The two mud clones made ready to continue the attack but Kakuzu was too swift in his recovery. Both of his arms were launched from his body by a black string like substance that was under his skin.

His two hands clutched both mud clones by the throat and crushed them causing the mud to collapse. Since Hidan had primarily been hit in the torso his body was still able to move well enough even while it was healing. He raced toward the direction Kurenai had fallen but couldn't find her. He put his hands together and said, "Kai!" However he still couldn't find here.

Kakuzu had retracted his arms and probed with his senses. The jonin was hiding somewhere but she was suppressing her chakra as to not be detected. Both Akatsuki members looked around for a few moments. Kakuzu started to say, "We should…" before he was cut off by a humongous fireball raining down on the two of them from the sky.

Kakuzu could feel the heat, smell the burning air, hear the roaring fire and see its massive size. For just a split second he believed it was real. In that split second Kurenai dashed away again heading north. Hidan screamed for a few moments before he too broke off the Genjutsu.

The jonin was not their target but Kakuzu was getting extremely angry. His past rages had been legendary often leaving him with a dead partner. His anger was great enough to ignore for the time being the path that led to higher profits. He pushed chakra into his feet and chased after the wounded leaf kunoichi. Hidan followed in his wake.

Kurenai felt some small measure of triumph as the two S class nin began chasing her in the opposite direction of her team.

*****BREAK*****

Hinata's eyes saw the battle. Kurenai's self appointed task had been successfully and she was now drawing the enemy shinobi away from the rest of the team. She also saw that she was wounded. As her sensei ran she kept one arm tight to her body. If the enemy ninja caught up with her, Kurenai would stand no chance. Hinata's heartbeat threatened to override her control. Breathing calmly she forced her pulse to slow down. Every shred of chakra she had may be needed before the day was out and she couldn't afford to a waste a single bit of it.

*****BREAK*****

Kurenai sprinted at top speed freely using every ounce of her chakra control to give just the right push off the ground to go just a bit faster. The jonin swallowed a soldier pill to replenish the chakra she had used early in the chase and battle. She tossed makibishi behind her though she doubted it would do much. But even a tiny deviation in her opponent's rhythm could give her another inch, another foot and another second. Despite her all out sprint her enemies were gaining on her.

But they weren't gained on her as fast as before. Without her students with her she was able to go faster. And each step she took in the opposite direction would give her team more time to get away. It was better than standing still and fighting since the Akatsuki were making negative progress.

Kakuzu's hearts were pumping with rage. He couldn't believe an inferior shinobi was delaying him and his partner like this. Step by step they drew closer and closer. Kurenai forced her trembling muscles to push her onward. They were fifty feet away. Kurenai pushed more chakra than needed into her feet in order to leap into the air twist her body around and toss several shuriken one handed at her enemies. She completely the twist and landed back on her feet keeping her rhythm.

The shuriken had been aimed at the eyes. Kakuzu merely titled his head while Hidan blocked it with the scythe. "You're about to be sacrificed to Lord Jashin! Are you afraid? Tell me!"

Kakuzu looked at his partner, "We don't have time for your ritual save it for the others."

Kurenai glanced behind her. It was now only forty feet. Kurenai had to focus on the battle but thoughts came unbidden to her mind. How would Asuma take her death? They had grown closer together recently. They had even started talking about having a family.

Thirty feet.

Twenty feet.

She thought about her team. Would Hinata remain the Hyuga heiress or would she be branded like her cousin Neji? Would Kiba sink back into a depression now that his other parental figure was gone? Would Shino close himself from social situations even more? They were chunin now and not genin, it wasn't her responsibility but she cared. What would become of them?

Ten feet.

Hidan launched his scythe at her legs. Kurenai dodged to the side breaking her stride and allowing Kakuzu to catch up. His torn clothing revealed an arm whose skin was turned dark and earth like as it raced for her. Instead of attempting to block the attack she shoved it aside at an angle, thankful that she had taken Kakashi's advice and worked on her taijutsu.

The deflection allowed her time to jump of the ground and push off of Kakuzu using charka channeled to the soles of her feet. In mid air she flashed through the hands seals despite the broken arm for another Genjutsu designed to blind. Hidan ruthlessly broke the Genjutsu and Kakuzu simply didn't let it affect him. Kurenai landed on the ground and immediately had to dodge Hidan's attack. She dropped a smoke grenade onto the ground and suppressed her chakra. Hidan swiped where he thought she would be but missed.

Kakuzu positioned himself outside of the smoke, ready to strike regardless of the direction she went. She burst through the smoke only to be hit by Kakuzu's flying arm that had become detached. The blow caught her square in the face and bloodied her nose. Kakuzu sent the other arm flying and Kurenai rolled out of the way only for Hidan to strike down with his scythe. Kurenai used her kunai to intercept the descending blade trying to deflect it away. Hidan's strength was superior and the angle was wrong. Kurenai managed to push the blade away slightly but it still stabbed into her shoulder pinning her to the ground.

Kakuzu was then there as well and one earth colored arm shoved down on her neck choking her. He brought his face down next to Kurenai's and said, "You piece of trash I am etching the faces of your pathetic team in my memory. I will hunt each and every one of them down and kill them." Kurenai struggled against his superior strength as he spoke but it was futile. He allowed the kunoichi one last moment to dwell on the threat to her teammates before casually snapping her neck.

He stood up and growled, "They have an even larger lead on us now but there is no way they can make it to Konoha in time. Let's go." Hidan licked his scythe, "Fine but when we catch up to them one of them will be sacrificed to Jashin." Kakuzu nodded and the two took up the chase again.

*****BREAK*****

Despite Kakashi's training Hinata freely let tears course down her face. Kurenai had been her mentor and a parent figure. Yes she was a shinobi and had done her duty by turning Hinata into a shinobi that could kill for the village but she had done more than that. She had cared for her and comforted her through her trials. She had deserved better then to die like she had.

Hinata jumped from tree to tree gaining on Kiba and Shino. Kiba and Shino weren't going top speed. That was OK because not even shinobi could go at their absolute fastest pace for long. Instead they were travelling at a brisk pace which allowed Hinata the chance to catch up.

"We have to run faster. Go!"

Kiba asked, "What happened to Kurenai-sensei?"

Hinata looked down.

"Tell me what happened damn it!"

Hinata responded, "She's dead. I'm sorry but we must hurry they are still chasing us."

Kiba growled, halfway tempted to turn around and avenge his sensei. His grip tightened on the Kusa shinobi who had gotten them into this mess and he briefly considered killing the bastard. He didn't because that would be disgracing Kurenai's memory and making her sacrifice pointless. But it was tempting.

They travelled swiftly but the Akatsuki was rapidly closing the distance. The option of turning around and fighting was gone. They were all low on chakra from the long chase. Hope was beginning to fade when a Konoha ANBU arrived. Kiba sniffed the air, "Naruto?"

It wasn't actually Naruto of course but one of the clones he had sent out.

"Report quickly so I can dispel and guide the rest of my squad here."

Hinata spoke mechanically, "Two Akatsuki are chasing us. Kurenai-sensei is dead. The one with the scythe can regenerate and the other one is almost impervious to harm. Both are S classed. They are fifteen minutes behind us."

The clone was shocked to hear of Kurenai's death but quickly told the remnants of team eight to alter their course slightly so their team can intercept. After passing along the instructions the clone dissipated and the real Naruto jerked up.

"Damn it. Kurenai-sensei is dead and we need to intercept two S ranked Akatsuki."

Sasuke felt a surge of adrenaline rocket through his body, "Is one of them Itachi?"

Naruto shook his head, "No I only got a brief description but neither of them is Itachi."

Kakashi gave instructions, "First let the clones engage, we need to learn what they can do. Naruto I want a lot of wind jutsu from your clones thrown out that will allow Sasuke and my clones a distraction so we can strike. Sakura time your Genjutsu to distract, don't assume they will fall for it.

"Hai Kakashi-sensei," the team intoned as they raced into position.

Upon meeting up with the exhausted team eight Naruto made a dozen clones to escort them back to Konoha. Hinata stopped for a moment, "Naruto-kun please be careful." Naruto gave her a thumbs up and then brought up forty clones that he arrayed in the trees.

Sasuke and Kakashi each made a pair of clones that hid their chakra signature and moved out of sight. They had all been briefed about the Akatsuki. They were an organization whose goals were not clear. The organization seemed to be made up of exclusively powerful missing nin that had reputations that rivaled the Kage of the five major hidden villages.

*****BREAK*****

Kakuzu felt the chakra signatures ahead, "Looks like the brats found some backup."

"Good! More sacrifices for Jashin."

Forty ANBU attired figures were in the trees. Kakuzu's practiced eye saw the way each of them moved in a similar fashion and came to the conclusion they were clones. The first four Naruto clones attacked with **Futon: Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). Kakuzu quickly dodged out of the way while Hidan let out a whoop and let the wind smash him back into the trees.

Half a dozen clones went right and left seeking to surround the pair. Three other Naruto clones let loose with **Futon: Shinkugyoku** (Wind Release Vacuum Bullets) aimed at Kakuzu. Kakuzu hardened his skin with **Doton**: **Domu** (Earth Release: Iron Skin). The air bullets plinked through his robes and bounced off his toughened skin. Other Naruto clones raced after Hidan.

Kakuzu knew he was not facing amateurs. The jutsu were being fired off with precision and power. A couple of clones raced toward him drawing katanas. He wasn't concerned with dodging attacks; with his iron skin no physical attack could harm him. He blocked the first strike and was surprised by the force behind the blow. Nothing scratched his skin but he was knocked off balance by the strike. He struck back and the clone dodged, it could not afford to block an attack because it would dissipate. With that advantage and Kakuzu's skill in taijutsu he quickly finished off the two clones only for another pair of clones to launch more wind jutsu at him.

He felt another chakra signature flash next to Hidan and he called out a warning that was a moment too late. Hidan had been knocked back by the initial Futon jutsu. After he got up another ABNU masked shinobi pushed a Raikiri through his heart. Hidan shoved his scythe backwards and managed to nick the clone causing it to dissipate.

"FUCK that hurt!" Hidan clutched the hole in his chest. His body would heal but even he would fight less effectively with a giant hole in his chest. Kakuzu needed to take the fight seriously and in a moment he allowed his hearts to erupt out from his back.

When using his most powerful techniques he had to form the hand signs to unleash the jutsu from the corresponding heart. However for techniques not as strong the hearts could act independently. First he needed to clear the clones and find his real opponents. And for that he used **Futon: Atsugai** (Wind Release: Pressure Damage). The resulting explosion of air shattered trees and destroyed dozens of clones. Only a few managed to get away from the flying debris and sheer destructive power of the concentrated wind.

Only a second later another 40 clones appeared and countered with their own attacks. Kakuzu's fire heart used Katon jutsu turning back the wind jutsu on the clones. Another figure this one taller than the Futon wielding clones moved in close. Kakuzu was startled by his opponents speed. Lighting covered the man's hand as it raced for him. Raiton attacks were one of the few chakra types that could actually get past his Iron Skin. Kakuzu dodged away from the deadly jutsu and flipped through the hand seals for **Raiton:** **Gian** (Lightning Release: False Darkness). The deadly bolt of lightning obliterated a path through the clone however the clone had instantly used the substitution technique and came at Kakuzu again.

Yet another attacker presented itself hurling slivers of lighting in the shape of senbon at his masks. His masks dodged the attacks but it was a close thing. The clone gathered lightning in its fist and charged. Behind Kakuzu he could feel additional clones of the Futon user racing for him. Kakuzu hardened his skin again the inevitable katana strike and prepared to dodge the Chidori.

The Chidori crackled with pent up energy and Kakuzu again evaded the attack and accepted the katana attack to his backside. The problem was at the last second one of the clones at his back used the substitution technique to change places with the Chidori wielding clone. In a split second Kakuzu sensed the danger and twisted his body. The clone with the aid of the Sharingan compensated but didn't quite get a strike onto his opponent's heart. However the lightning current did deaden a good portion of the black strings that made up his internal body.

In response Kakuzu flung his dark innards in all directions, a shadow clone only needed to be grazed in order to be defeated so this popped the Chidori wielding clone as well as the Naruto clones around him. He spared a glance to where Hidan was and stiffened in dismay. Somehow Hidan have been carved up like a turkey. Kakuzu could sense there was a lingering chakra signature around him which meant the fool had been hit with another Genjutsu. And that had lead to a half dozen of the Futon user's clones to slice him into a multitude of pieces. If Kakuzu had time he could stitch Hidan back together but his opponents were not letting up.

The air became saturated with kunai as the clones used the same fuinjutsu scrolls as the mud clones had earlier. His masks were sturdy enough to take a kunai but they didn't have the benefit of his **Doton: Domu** (Earth Release: Iron Skin). Enough hits could shatter them. Fortunately for Kakuzu they were nimble and could even make gaps in the black threads to allow the kunai to pass through them.

Kakuzu again thinned out the area with **Futon: Atsugai** (Wind Release: Pressure Damage) and yet again more clones sprang to take the place of the one's dissipated. Some of these clones rushed his masks with their katanas. His hearts countered with independent low level jutsu. Lighting strikes, blasts of water, miniature fireballs and wind bullets were all used to stop the clones from getting in close.

The fight taxed even Kakuzu's intellect as clones, projectiles and jutsu filled the air. He felt a tendril of a Genjutsu attempt to disorient him within the chaos but he ruthlessly released the effect. A clone slashed at him and he killed it quickly with his black threads only for it to explode with the strength of multiple explosive seals. Hot metal shrapnel also pelted the area of the explosion. Luckily for Kakuzu his Iron Skin was purely reflexive from his long years of using it. Still the explosion rocked him backwards.

Pillars rose up around where he landed and he quickly identified the jutsu as **Raiton: Shichu Shibari** (Lighting Release: Four Pillar Bind). His body arced as electricity froze his muscles. He mentally directed the Futon heart to blast the air with **Futon: Atsugai** (Wind Release: Pressure Damage) which would break the Raiton jutsu but not do him any harm. The plan was successful however with the Futon mask's attention directed elsewhere another figure with a blade coated in chakra sliced through the mask like a hot knife through butter.

Kakuzu figured this was the real ANBU agent and he had been responsible for all the clones. He directed his Raiton heart to let loose with **Raiton:** **Gian** (Lightning Release: False Darkness) but two clones interfered by unleashing lighting's opposite element via the C ranked **Futon: Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). False Darkness was a stronger attack however wind naturally defeated lightning.

Lightning senbon forced Kakuzu to dodge away right into the arms of an apparent taijutsu specialist. Kakuzu wasn't worried about getting hit with physical attacks but he wasn't able to land a solid blow either. Unlike his kick against the Genjutsu woman his opponent could block his attacks and not suffer broken bones.

Again a Genjutsu tried to invade his chakra network and he flooded it out. In that same instant his opponent grabbed his arm, and flipped through one handed seals and coated his hand with lightning. Kakuzu broke the grab and danced away from the blow of the lightning chakra only for it to extend out and smash into his chest from 10 feet away.

"I call that one **Chidori** **Eiso** (Chidori Spear)," a smug voice told him. Kakuzu collapsed on the ground. His hearts knew what to do and the Raiton one blasted lightning at the one who had speared him. The ANBU masked shinobi dodged away and the Suiton mask jumped into Kakuzu's body. The Katon mask burned a circle around Kakuzu's body keeping back any opponents.

Kakuzu's heart began pumping chakra through his frame again just in time to see the chakra conductive katana wielder flash through the hands seal for a summoning. In a flash he used the body substitution technique to escape the arrival of a gigantic toad. The massive magenta colored beast would have pulverized his body and his heart if it had come down on him.

For the first time in a very long time Kakuzu felt fear. Two of his hearts were destroyed leaving the Raiton and Katon natured hearts. The Suiton heart was inside his chest.

"I'll bit your throats out let me go heathens!"

Kakuzu burned with rage at how easily his partner had been taken down. If he had someone like Sasori with all his puppets or even Deidra with his explosions he wouldn't be in this mess.

The massive toad wielded a Sasumata that was swung with vicious speed at his Katon mask. Kakuzu wanted to get rid of the massive create as fast as possible. The mask danced backward and then Kakuzu flashed through the hand seals for **Katon: Zukokku** (Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work). A roar of fire screamed toward the massive toad. The futon using shinobi jumped right into its path and crossed his arms. Kakuzu's green eyes widen in shock. The jutsu just… stopped as it connected with the ANBU operative. Bits of fire leaked past it since the fireball was quite large but it wasn't enough to cause significant harm to the toad.

'What kind of defense is that? This is impossible!'

The leaf shinobi wasn't done quite yet and threw a trio of chakra laced kunai directly at the mask. The mask dodged the first two but was struck square in the center with the third, it cracked instantly and the black threads turned to slush.

His Raiton focused heart was busy frying clones as they swarmed around him. Kakuzu had yet to draw blood on any of his opponents. Disgusted with his failure he used the shunshin to get some distance and began to sprint away. Clones chased after him. The irony of what was happening was lost on him. Just a couple of hours earlier he had chased an outclassed shinobi to her death and now the same was happening in reverse.

He felt his Raiton heart become crushed and he pumped chakra into his feet to gain distance. Yet another shinobi appeared before him hands already moving for a jutsu. Kakuzu shifted to the right hoping to dodge the attack but his opponent either guessed or sensed the direction he was going to and compensated. **Raiju Hashiri no Jutsu** (Lightning Beast Running Technique) was used and in Kakuzu's eyes he saw a massive canine creature speed out from his adversary's hands and close the distance to him in a fraction of a second. The jutsu electrocuted every fiber of his body paralyzing his nerve endings, chakra pathway and ability to think. A half second later a fist full of lighting crashed into his chest and stilled his final heart.

**AN:** Sorry Kurenai fans but I felt it would be a cop out to let her survive (I did think about it though). For those keeping track here is the list of people dead, alive or stronger due to the changes in the fiction prior to the main events of Shippuden.

**Alive:** Gekko Hayate and Kidomaru

**Dead:** Orochimaru, Kabuto, Gaara, Tenzo, Tsume, Kurenai and Kakuzu

**Stronger: **Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, Hinata, Kiba, Shino and Iruka

I think this is realistic – it's really lame in anime how rare death is. It takes tension away from fights IMO. Also sorry if there are any Hidan fans out there but the guy is worthless. Take away the ridiculous anime concept of letting an opponent do something while you stop and stare… team seven would never have let him do the ritual even if someone had been tagged. The guy is a moron, is good with his scythe and has no area attacks. Basically a chump. Kakuzu was much tougher but considering he was up against two Raiton specialists it was a bad matchup to go 4v1 on. As always I appreciate your reviews and thoughts!

I'd also like some thoughts on how you liked the fight from the opposite POV. It was through mostly Kakuzu's eyes that we saw the action which is why there frequent references to "ANBU" when team seven isn't an official part of ANBU. Did it work? I tried to make it obvious which character was doing what based on the descriptions but what makes sense in my mind doesn't always translate.


	36. Chapter 35: Challenge Accepted

**AN:** Thank you for all of the reviews – even those that disagree with some of the story decisions I appreciate you sharing your opinion.

My next recommended story is **Team 7's Ascension** by Eilyfe. The world is much darker and more realistic than cannon. I like to think my Kakashi is very similar to the Kakashi in that story. I highly encourage you to read it!

**Chapter 35:** Challenge Accepted

Team seven had picked up Kurenai's body, Kakuzu's corpse and the still screaming dismembered body and head of Hidan. Team seven wasn't quite sure what was keeping Hidan alive. The brain needed blood and oxygen to function but evidently Hidan's strange chakra allowed it to operate despite not being connected to a heart and lungs.

The return trip to the village went uneventfully and they reported in. After careful discussion with the T&I unit they released Hidan to their tender mercies. Kakuzu was taken to the hospital and given to Tsunade to perform the autopsy.

Jiraiya had met with them and let them know he would inform Asuma. He also congratulated them on taking down two S-class shinobi. While Jiraiya would rather have Kurenai alive then the potential intelligence they were going to get from Hidan he would not look a gift horse in the mouth. For a long time he had been operating in the dark about the Akatsuki and their true motives. Their cell based operation meant that Itachi didn't know the full scope of the Akatsuki plans. Having intelligence form a different angle would be invaluable.

An emotionally exhausted team seven returned to their base of operations. In two days they would attend the funeral and be out in the village under their real faces.

*****BREAK*****

Anko had not taken the news of her friend's death well. Kurenai had been one of the few shinobi in the village who didn't ignore her or outright look down on her. As Orochimaru's old apprentice the village had distrusted her ever since his defection. With her being part of the kill team that went and finished him it was getting better but habits were hard to change and Anko wasn't quite ready to forgive and forget.

But Kurenai had been different. She had seen a hurting kunoichi and had comforted her. They had become fast friends. Outside of information she learned as part of her Torture & Interrogation duties she was cut off from village gossip and information. Kurenai had kept her in the loop and they had spent long hours drinking and chatting.

And now her friend was dead. And one of the bastards that had done it to her was in the interrogation cells and she wasn't allowed to pay him back. Ibiki had told her it would not be professional for her to personally take a hand in the interrogation. Anko thought that was stupid.

'The piece of shit regenerates what the fuck are they worried about?'

Anko went to work out some steam in her favorite training grounds, the forest of death. It held no danger for a jonin level shinobi like her. Well that wasn't quite true, it wouldn't be a good idea to take a nap there. Anko worked out her frustrations by turning one of the thick trees into kindling with nothing more than taijutsu strikes.

The snake style of fighting was all about attacking with tremendous force and precision from unexpected angles. It had served her well in the career she had made for herself. Teasing Iruka, chatting with Kurenai and a thorough enjoyment of her job had kept her sane. Teasing Iruka was new. Her job was pleasurable but its joys transitory. Her only real grounding was Kurenai.

And she was gone.

Orochimaru had beaten the tears out of her and even now they would not fall. But she still trembled with regret and rage. After another several hours of tree murder she had spent her rage for a time. In her exhausted state she thought about what made Kurenai, Kurenai. Kurenai was happiest when she was with her team or when she was with Asuma.

'I know you would want me to be happy Kurenai. You told me I should stop teasing poor Iruka and actually ask him out. I still think you're crazy. It's never going to work. But for you Kurenai, I'll give it a shot.'

*****BREAK*****

The Akatsuki convened using **Gentoshin no Jutsu** (Astral Projection Jutsu). They had to use this jutsu since not all of their members were in the same geographic location. Pein began, "Kakuzu is dead and Hidan has been captured by Konoha."

Kisame laughed, "The zombie combo taken out? Good riddance."

Pein turned his gaze on Hoshigaki, "You should respect your comrades."

Sasori asked, "Who defeated them?"

Zetsu rasped, "Kakashi Hatake's team."

Kisame grinned and looked over to Itachi, "Hey isn't that the team your kid brother is on?"

Itachi inclined his head.

Deidara looked intrigued but didn't say anything for the moment.

Sasori asked, "Should we try to retrieve Hidan? He was new to our organization but the leaf could still learn too much."

"No. Suna and Konoha are allied; if we attack Konoha it will put our negotiations with the Kazekage at risk. Hidan did not know much enough about our plans to take that risk," Pein replied.

"Hatake's team is getting stronger are you sure you will be able to handle the nine tail's jinchuuriki?" Sasori asked this and looked toward the projections of Itachi and Kisame.

"No problem, 'Kisame replied.

"I do not foresee any issues," Itachi all added.

Pein called the impromptu meeting to a close, "Your current orders are still standing. Sasori you will take over as treasurer."

One by one the projections winked out and the Akatsuki went about their duties.

*****BREAK*****

Jiraiya sat behind his desk as Ibiki Morino explained the lack of progress with their prisoner.

"Hokage-sama, the prisoner has yet to break during interrogation. Pain affects him but has not caused him to give up any information."

Jiraiya nodded, "Have Inoichi try his hand at it then."

Ibiki bowed and then said, "We still aren't sure how he is actually alive. I'd like to have Tsunade-sama review the rest of his body and head. There may be some medicinal benefits if we can learn how he is regenerating."

"I don't think we will. His chakra is not natural. But it wouldn't hurt go and have Tsunade take a look."

Ibiki bowed and left the Hokage's office.

The funeral would begin soon and Jiraiya was not looking forward to. He hated funerals but as Hokage he had to preside over the fallen.

'There are too many names on the memorial stone already. And I have a feeling before we are done with the Akatsuki there will be many more added.'

*****BREAK*****

The funereal was a solemn occasion. Kurenai Yuhi was well liked in the shinobi community. The Aburame, Hyuga, Sarutobi and Inuzuka clan were present in numbers. In the academy, young would be shinobi were taught not to show emotions. The academy instructors would be hard pressed to justify that rule if their students were in attendance.

Asuma Sarutobi lost almost all composure. Kiba was right there with him. Hinata and Shino pulled off a neutral façade but even their blank faces had an aura of mourning and barely suppressed pain. It was a day eerily similar to the day of the third Hokage's funeral. While attendance was lighter some of the emotion was stronger. The Sandaime had lived a long and legendary life. He had seen his students become master shinobi and had seen his children and grandchildren grow. Kurenai had died childless, her future cut tragically short.

Death wasn't a rare occurrence for shinobi but this one touched more than most. When it ended team seven filed off while the rest of team eight and Asuma stayed and kept a silent vigil.

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi and Shikaku were with the Hokage when Asuma stormed into the office. It had only been a day after the funeral and Asuma didn't look like he had slept a wink. The ANBU had let him in because they knew Jiraiya. Jiraiya would not have wanted blood in front of his office because of a grieving shinobi hadn't followed proper protocol when seeing the Hokage.

"Jiraiya-sama I request, no I demand information on the Akatsuki. I am going to hunt every last one of those bastards down and kill them."

The Akatsuki was a secretive organization not a secret organization. They were a mercenary group that was highly skilled and took missions. They had done a lot of work in the Land of Earth and had also collected a number of large bounties. The fact that Asuma knew of the Akatsuki was unsurprising.

Jiraiya sighed heavily as he looked at Asuma's angry eyes.

"The Akatsuki who did this to Kurenai is dead and his partner is being interrogated and will eventually be killed as well. Don't give yourself over to vengeance."

Asuma slammed a hand down on Jiraiya's desk, "No! Kurenai was everything to me. I wasn't there to save her but I will avenge her."

"Vengeance has already taken place. Kakuzu is dead. Hidan will soon follow," Jiraiya countered.

"There are more of them, I refuse to let them live out their lives while Kurenai lies dead in the ground!"

Jiraiya was about to say more but Kakashi spoke up first.

"Actually we do plan on dealing with the Akatsuki but there is a problem with having you help."

Asuma did a double take, "What do you mean?"

"You're too weak."

Asuma exploded, "I'm an elite jonin! I was one of the twelve guardians. I may not be an S-class Sharingan implanted freak like you but I can fight."

Kakashi looked bored. "You're not half bad but you've stopped progressing. You've gotten lazy and against the Akatsuki you just don't cut it. This is the organization that has Itachi Uchiha as a subordinate."

Asuma growled at Kakashi and took a threatening step forward. Kakashi simply looked on placidly. Asuma thought better of attacking someone in the Hokage's office and struggled to regain his composure.

"Jiraiya-sama, Kakashi is wrong. I am strong and if his team can fight the Akatsuki and win then so can I."

Kakashi responded before Jiraiya could. "There are two differences between you and my team Asuma. My team follows my orders and in your emotionally compromised state I don't think you will. The second reason is simple; all of them are stronger than you."

Asuma's jaw dropped for a second and then he laughed. "Your arrogance is amazing. Your team is good but one on one I can take on any of them unless Naruto used the kyubi chakra."

Kakashi stood up, "Asuma the leaf village needs to be strong so I'll make you a wager. If you can beat the opponent of your choosing from my team in a one on one battle next week you'll be part of the next operation against the Akatsuki. However if you lose then you get put on a training schedule devised by Gai and myself. Only after you finish your training will you be allowed to join in any mission against the Akatsuki."

Asuma confidently agreed, "All right Kakashi you have yourself a deal."

Jiraiya asked, "Asuma who do you wish to fight?"

"Sakura," the bearded jonin replied.

Kakashi didn't react and Asuma left feeling as if he had gotten one over on Kakashi.

After Asuma left Jiraiya turned to Kakashi, "He's going to be pretty mad when realizes there is no operation planned against the Akatsuki."

Kakashi gave his Hokage an eye smile. "True but I have a strong feeling we'll have to fight them again. The Akatsuki does a lot of work in the Land of Earth and I know they are going to be itching to send assassins after Naruto. My strategy of faking missions outside of Hi no Kuni isn't going to work forever."

Jiraiya changed the subject to the upcoming jonin trials. "Any surprises?"

Kakashi shook his head, "No, it is gratifying that Iruka feels qualified enough to be a jonin. He was pegged as a career chunin but with some pushing from Naruto he agreed to continue training. Imagine if every Konoha shinobi started to train that way…" Kakashi trailed off in a thoughtful voice.

Shikaku groaned, "Not this again."

Kakashi held his hands up, "Just making a point not starting another argument."

Jiraiya scanned the list again, "Looks like your son is ready as is Neji Hyuga."

Shikaku sighed, "Shikamaru has the intelligence to win if he bothers putting in the effort. His taijutsu is still only chunin level. His Genjutsu detection, clan based ninjutsu and battle field tactics are jonin level."

The discussion drifted onto other village business. Jiraiya and the Mizukage had exchanged correspondence and they were trying to make arrangements for a formal meeting. Neither side had full trust in the other.

Kakashi gave it some thought and finally said, "We're going to have to take a risk if we want this to go beyond letters back and forth. Mei won't come here and it would be too risky to go the Hidden Mist village, but we will have to meet in the Land of Water. Security will be a major issue, I would insist on going with you if that is your decision."

Jiraiya waved him off, "Bah Kakashi, I was surviving ambushes while you were learning how to walk."

Kakashi nonchalantly responded, "I know, you're old that's why I need to protect you."

"Why you…"

Shikaku barked out a laugh, "Walked into that one Hokage-sama."

Jiraiya muttered something about a lack of respect and the three continued to go through the myriad issues that came up when running a hidden village.

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi broke the news to Sakura the following day during training.

"What do you mean I am fighting Asuma Sarutobi one on one?"

"Maa, you'll do fine."

Naruto showed his support as well, "You can do it Sakura-chan! Asuma is even older than Kakashi-sensei!"

Sakura had to smile at the remark while Kakashi did his best to pretend he never heard it.

"But sensei, I'm low jonin in taijutsu. My ninjutsu is limited to the academy basics and one Katon jutsu. While my Genjutsu is probably the best in the village he knows it and will expect it. Trying to drop a Genjutsu on someone who is expecting it is twice as hard!"

Kakashi simply shrugged, "I guess you'll need to figure out a plan then."

Sakura began thinking about various battle tactics and strategies she could use against the far more experienced jonin.

"Oh and to make it more interesting my cute little chunin, if you lose no fuinjutsu for a month."

Sakura shuddered, "No! You can't be serious sensei. I'm about to make a breakthrough on the chakra limits per kanji dilemma! It could revolutionize how items are stored!"

"I guess that means you have ample incentive to win."

Kakashi turned to Naruto. "While Sakura is preparing for her fight it's time you invent your own jutsu that can harness the extreme amounts of chakra you have access to."

The two left a now utterly motivated Sakura to her thoughts.

Naruto asked, "Hey where is Sasuke anyway?"

"In the village, he had a few people he needed to meet in regards to signing a summoning contract."

Naruto grinned, "That's good but nothing ever beats toads!"

"Having a summon is not just about combat strength. For example the contract I hold allows me to track shinobi as well as any Inuzuka. It's good that you have pride in your allies but don't look down on others."

"Hai Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi had moved to the largest training room in their base. The room was massive and had seals etched along the walls that would prevent all but the most devastating jutsu from causing too much damage.

"Naruto, jutsu are created with efficiency in mind. Some jutsu can have extra chakra forced into them and expand the effects but even then it is wasteful. I want you to create a new Futon jutsu that is both powerful and chakra intensive. A jutsu that only someone with massive chakra reserves can use. That means I'm not looking for some overpowered **"Futon: Daitoppa"** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough), I'm looking for something unique."

"What should it do?"

"Massive area effect damage. Both Sasuke and I have assassination techniques for single targets. You also have the Rasengan and your chakra conducting katana. What we need is another large scale jutsu, something even bigger than **Raiton: Jibashi Daino** (Lightning Release: Massive Electromagnetic Murder)."

Naruto wasn't quite sure how to create his own jutsu and so the two had a long discussion on how it could be done. The hand seals directed the flow of chakra in specific ways. The first step was to imagine how a possible jutsu would function and then find the hand seals that would direct the chakra in that fashion. Jutsu crafters and theorists went through hundreds of different combinations before actually trying something. The process could take years. But Kakashi explained how Naruto had the amazing advantage of being able to test ideas at a much faster pace thanks to his clones.

"Naruto you've come a long way in the intelligence and knowledge department but I don't expect you to be a jutsu crafting genius. Instead I want you to try to anything that seems like it could work and through simple brute force numbers come up with something viable."

"My father created awesome jutsu and I am going to too! Believe it!" Naruto was confident in his eventual success.

Kakashi was pleased with his enthusiasm. "I'm sure you will Naruto."

*****BREAK*****

Sasuke chose to seek out Konohamaru first. It was written in the accounts of the kyubi attack that Enma the monkey had been summoned by the Sandaime. He had transformed into a diamond hard adamantine staff that had enough power to knock back the nine tailed fox. That kind of power was appealing to him after his clash with Iwa's jinchuuriki.

He waited for Konohamaru to finish his day at the academy. The boy would be graduating soon and Sasuke dropped down next to him and his friends. He inclined his head slightly and said, "Konohamaru Sarutobi I would like a few moments of your time."

Konohamaru looked startled and said, "Hey aren't you Naruto's teammate? Is he back in town? Why doesn't he ever visit me anymore! I'm his rival you know."

Sasuke smirked at the idea that the kid was a rival to Naruto.

"I can pass along your questions to Naruto. But I wanted to talk to you about something else."

"Like what?"

"I'm an incredibly talented ninja. I guarantee you that I'm better then whoever they have training you is. What I'm offering is private lessons from me. I know jutsu that they wouldn't even dream of teaching you until you reached chunin. I can help tutor you and make sure you are ready for the very first available chunin exam."

Konohamaru's eyes were shining. Sasuke Uchiha had a reputation. He was the last Uchiha, the top ranked member of his academy class. He was a natural genius, wielder of the Sharingan and on the deadliest team in the village. The chance to train with him was an excellent opportunity.

"I'm interested. What do ya want in exchange?"

"I want to sign the monkey contract."

Konohamaru opened his mouth in surprise. He then looked down, "Sorry but that isn't an option."

"Why not?"

"The monkey clan has been in my family since before there was a Konohagakure. We have never allowed any shinobi outside of our family to sign. Sorry but I cannot allow it."

Sasuke was taken aback by the firm rejection.

Konohamaru kept talking, "But I'm still interested in training! I don't know a lot of jutsu but I do know one called the sexy jutsu that…"

Before Konohamaru could even finish Sasuke disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

*****BREAK*****

If Sasuke couldn't have the monkey contract then he would settle for his second choice. The snake contract had a lot to offer. Not being able to summon Manda would be frustrating especially since Naruto could summon the toad chief but it would be better than nothing.

The current holder of the snake contract was Anko Mitarashi. She normally worked with Konoha's Torture & Interrogation department but was currently on leave. That meant he had to track her down. He eventually found her in a secluded training area sparring with Iruka.

Sasuke watched with his Sharingan. Iruka had improved significantly. His taijutsu strikes were swift and had power behind them. His Suiton ninjutsu wasn't flashy but it was quite effective defensively. Sasuke applauded the fast creation of a water clone to accept the blow of dozens of snakes that had poured out of Anko's sleeve. The real Iruka had counter attacked and Anko had been forced to break off her attack.

The two noticed Sasuke and called a halt to the spar. Iruka spoke first, "Ah Sasuke what can I do for you?"

"Actually I came to talk with Anko-san."

Iruka blinked, "Oh all right." Iruka looked slightly unsure of himself but he cleared his throat and then said, "Anko did you still want me to uh…"

Anko smiled, "Of course and you better not be late!"

Sasuke saw heat enter Iruka's cheeks and he quickly waved goodbye to the both of them and used a shunshin to beat a hasty retreat.

Anko had a smiled in the direction he had gone.

Even if Sasuke wasn't a genius it was obvious the two had something going on between the two of them. Sasuke however was the last person to care about who was dating who in the village and didn't comment.

"All right brat what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I'll be direct. I want to be a signer of the snake contract."

Anko was taken aback by the request. With Orochimaru's death the snake contract had reverted to her, she was now the human link to the snake clan. She could add signers on if she wished. It actually didn't cost her a thing either. Most snakes served the holder of the contract based on strength. In snake society, the weak served the strong. If you summoned a snake that thought you were weak it could get extremely ugly. Before Orochimaru had turned against the leaf he had told her the history of the snake contract and how in the past several shinobi had lost their lives to their own allies.

"Hmm there are some things I should explain about the snakes first. They aren't like the toads, slugs or monkeys. They only respect power. But if you feel it's worth the risk I'll let you sign on one condition."

Sasuke had expected some sort of quid pro quo. "And that is?"

Anko sighed, "Tell Kakashi to get over it. I know I screwed up on the Orochimaru mission but I'd like him to go back to the way things were before."

"What do you mean?"

Anko explained, "Most of the village hates me. Half think I'm some sort of traitor and the other half think I'm a psychotic torture happy home wrecker. Kakashi was one of the few who would treat me just like any other shinobi. We weren't friends or anything like that but it was nice to have someone who treated me like what I am. A kunoichi who serves her village to the best of her ability."

"I'll see what I can do but that seems reasonable enough. Tell me more about the snake contract and I'll talk with Kakashi tonight."

**AN: **Sorry about the constant scenes changes but there were a lot of perspectives I wanted to get in. Team eight will be addressed more in the next chapter.


	37. Chapter 36: Sakura vs Asuma

**AN: **WOW! Five Hundred Reviews! I'm halfway to my goal for this story – you guys rock!

I think I've done a poor job of making it clear how much time has passed. It has been two years since they graduated from the academy making team seven 14 years old.

For my next recommendation some good light hearted fun. "It's for a good cause, I swear!" by **Sarah1281**. It's a funny time travel fiction that ended at just the right time. If you like light hearted fan fiction this is a great one.

**Chapter 36: **Sakura vs. Asuma

Sasuke had watched the jonin trials with his Sharingan to see if he could uncover any new jutsu. Sadly the field was rather limited when it came to jutsu he would find useful. Iruka used his Suiton jutsu effectively and efficiently but it was primarily C and B ranked.

Shikamaru used his clan jutsu that Sasuke was not able to copy. And Neji Hyuga used his clan's gentle fist. There were a couple of civilians who had made it to chunin and were trying to take the next step up but were simply not ready for the jump to jonin. An Akimichi was talented but had been utterly outclassed by Neji. Sasuke doubted he would get the nod but there was potential there.

Kotetsu had an interesting skill set, a bit of fuinjutsu, Genjutsu and he also wielded in odd weapon in close combat. However Iruka breezed by his Genjutsu and proved superior in close combat. Bekko, a chunin who favored close combat had been outplayed at every part of his match by the genius Nara.

The jonin exams were not like the chunin exams. One on one fights occurred but also demonstrations of particular talents and ninjutsu outside of combat were assessed. Unlike the chunin exams that were a spectacle the jonin exams tended to be private and only trusted shinobi could observe them. Sasuke understood that a jonin's secret technique should be hidden until used against an enemy.

'Well that was useless. Neji would be fun to match in close combat. His Kaiten isn't nearly as perfect of a defense as he likes to think. Naruto will be happy that Iruka was one of selections.'

It was unlikely Anko would join him for training as she was going to be 'celebrating' with the newly minted jonin. Sasuke returned to his snake training alone. As per Anko's instructions he had started summoning relatively unintelligent snakes. They ranged from tiny grass snakes that could be used to spy to massive building sized constrictors. Manda's direct family was not summoned by Sasuke, at least not yet. For now he was content with having another tool in his arsenal. Eventually he would summon more intelligent and therefore dangerous snakes. While he doubted any of them save for Manda himself could kill him there was no need to take chances. When he did summon one he would do so under conditions that favored him completely.

*****BREAK*****

Kiba had been upset, angry and rude when he lost his mother. He didn't act like that when Kurenai-sensei was killed. Hinata almost wished he had. No, instead of acting out in anger he had become extremely withdrawn. The once boisterous boy had lost all energy. His sister had to bully him to the table for meals. Even Akamaru couldn't get a smile out of him.

Hinata was concerned and confronted Kiba directly. Hana smiled at her as she entered the Inuzuka home. "Thank you for coming Hinata. Kiba… isn't Kiba right now. I've never seen him like this and I really don't know what to do."

Hinata wasn't sure what to do either but she owed it to her teammate to try to get him out of his funk. Yes Kurenai's death had been recent but what he was doing was unhealthy. Hana took Hinata to Kiba's room. There they found Kiba staring out the window. Akamaru barked when they entered and greeted the two. He then looked toward Kiba and let out a whine.

Hinata moved next to Kiba and said, "Kiba it looks like Akamaru is worried about you." Silence was Kiba's response.

Hana growled, "Kiba! You have a guest do not shame our family."

Kiba twitched and looked at Hinata, "Oh. Hello Hinata."

"I'll be fine Hana can I talk to Kiba alone?"

Hana nodded and left the area while Hinata turned back to Kiba. "I have barely seen you since the funeral. What have you been doing?"

Kiba inhaled sharply, "Why do you care? Our team is broken and we'll be split up. It's probably for the best."

The old Hinata would have recoiled as if she had been struck at such a remark but Hinata had been trained by Kakashi. When you are surprised is when you should have the most control because that is when you would tend to be most vulnerable. Instead Hinata didn't react and after a moment or two asked, "Why would it be for the best?"

"Because maybe you and Shino will join a team with someone who can protect you."

Hinata sighed, "It wasn't your fault. Kurenai-sensei ordered all of us to leave."

"Because I was too weak! I was the team's muscle; if I was a shinobi like Naruto or Sasuke I could have protected her and the entire team."

"You can't blame yourself for not being a powerful prodigy. Not everyone can be a genius."

Kiba snarled, "Bullshit. Naruto was the dead last of our class. He was a moron. But you know what? He worked hard and look at where he is now. Strong enough to fight the bastards we ran from."

"So if that's the case why are you moping about and not getting stronger so you can protect everyone?"

"IT'S TOO LATE!"

Hinata's hand blurred as she slapped Kiba across the face. Kiba backed up stunned.

"Is Akamaru dead? Is Hana dead? Is Shino dead? Am I dead? Do you care about any of us?"

Kiba shuddered, "I don't want to care. I don't want to feel like this again. I just want to be left alone."

Hinata's heart was breaking for Kiba but she kept her mask firmly in place. "Kiba you have been a good teammate. You were wild, you didn't' care about rules and you made me laugh. But you know what I respected the most about you? Your courage."

Kiba flinched.

"Yes, courage. You would throw yourself at any danger to protect the team, your pack. You were willing to fight two S class shinobi that would have killed you. Can you still be courageous? Because if the reason you are acting like this is because you are afraid of pain then you aren't Kiba Inuzuka, you're a pathetic coward that is a disgrace to the village, his clan, his team and to the sensei who sacrificed her life for him."

Kiba was shocked. Hinata _never_ spoke like that. After Kakashi's training she no longer stuttered and acted in the confident manner one would expect form a Hyuga heiress but she was never like this. Kiba's hand trembled and he clenched it into a fist.

Kiba was breathing heavily. He closed his eyes and felt the pain in his chest amplify. It screamed to get out. He let loose a howl of mourning for what he had lost. His mother and then his surrogate mother. He never wanted to feel this kind of pain again but he wouldn't be a coward. That wasn't Kiba Inuzuka.

He looked at Hinata and saw a proud kunoichi. She was beautiful, strong and would make a worthy mate. Kiba's emotions were on a rollercoaster but he knew one thing. A woman who could break the suffocating despair was a woman he wanted at his side forever.

"You're right Hinata-chan. Enough moping I haven't sparred since that mission. Let's go, now."

Hinata was perceptive and saw the change was tinged with a desire for her. She loved Naruto not Kiba but Naruto was obviously still infatuated with Sakura. Neither would be a choice that the Hyuga family would probably accept anyway.

'Why must things be so complicated?'

Hinata let none of her thoughts show on her face instead she nodded, "Hai let's go train. If we prove that we can work as a team I know we can persuade the Hokage to keep team eight together."

*****BREAK*****

Asuma had spent the week practicing on his Genjutsu detection. He figured that the pink haired girl's only hope was to catch him in an illusion. Being aware of the potential made it unlikely to be successful but he was damned if he was going to let Kakashi's student beat him.

The area Kakashi had set aside for their battle was a large circle in training field forty one. It left plenty of room for both fighters to spread out. Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke, Shizune, Iruka and Anko were already present. Asuma had told his old team about the fight and they had come with him. Ino had lectured him on not hurting Sakura too badly.

Sakura appeared relaxed wearing a modified chunin vest that had additional pockets. Asuma's sharp eye caught that and he thought o himself, 'Ah she must have packed a bunch of the fuinjutsu scrolls team seven likes to use.'

Kakashi explained the rules. The fight would go on until one side gave up, dropped unconscious or stepped outside of the circle. Kakashi could also call the fight if the lives of the participants were in too much danger. Shizune was present to provide immediate medical attention if it was necessary.

Naruto shouted out, "Kick his ass Sakura-chan!"

Shikamaru looked very thoughtful as he glanced between Sakura and Asuma.

The two started at opposite ends of the battle field. Kakashi gave the signal to go and Asuma pulled out his trench knives and waited for the inevitable Genjutsu attack. Sakura's hands moved fast and she pulled out a scroll and opened it. The scroll expelled a sizeable amount of fog that soon covered the circle.

As Asuma expected he felt a tendril of Genjutsu try to alter his perceptions. He easily shut it down and called out, "You'll have to do better than that Sakura." Asuma's keen hearing and awareness allowed him to sense the kunai streaking toward him.

'The infamous kunai scroll, dangerous to a chunin but not to someone like me.'

The first kunai entered his field of vision and he saw the exploding tag on it.

He had intended to block the kunai with his knives but that would be risky with explosive tags trailing from their hilts. Instead Asuma used **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) to scatter the projectiles away from him. Asuma watched in horror as a massive fireball crashed into his wind jutsu.

If Asuma wasn't as elite as he had claimed he would have badly burned and in need of Shizune's medical attention. But he was one of Konoha's elite and so he used the substitution jutsu without hand seals that took him away from danger at the last instant. Even so he still had mild burns from the heat.

Asuma realized he had been played perfectly so far. The fog blocked his line of sight so he couldn't see Sakura use complete **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique). With Asuma being a Futon specialist it would have been natural for him to use the Gale Palm to defend against a swarm of explosive tag laced kunai.

'She must have already started the jutsu even while the kunai were travelling.'

Asuma growled in irritation. He saw Sakura still pouring on the flames; the heat had dissipated much of the summoned fog. He rolled smoothly and threw one of his chakra conducting kunai at Sakura's shoulder. He didn't want to kill her after all. But to his horror Sakura saw the kunai at the last second and dodged _the wrong way_.

Asuma could only watch in despair as the futon covered kunai speared right through Sakura's heart.

Ino's scream came with a surge of horrendous guilt. 'What have I done?'

Asuma was still with shock and only his preternatural senses allowed him to feel the danger incoming. The kunai had almost reached him when he broke free of the Genjutsu. He didn't even have time for a near instantaneous Kawarimi. Instead he turned to the side with every ounce of his battle hardened reflexes. The kunai exploded into a pile of noxious gas as it sailed past him. The gas enveloped him and he exhaled sharply to avoid breathing any of it in.

His eyes watered badly whatever the poison was it was nasty. He was confident it wasn't lethal but breathing any of it in would end the fight. Asuma leapt away from the cloud and turned his blurry vision toward Sakura. The young chunin hadn't been idle, in fact she had five scrolls open in mid air held up by nothing but chakra strings.

One of the scrolls opened up with a hail of kunai. Asuma dodged to the side, his speed quick enough to avoid the swift moving kunai. Another scroll opened sending a second wave. Asuma dodged again and went on the offensive. Futon jutsu would be dangerous against a Katon user so he went with his second affinity.

"**Katon: Goenka"** (Fire Release: Great Flame Flower).

Three large blasts of flame leapt toward Sakura. Sakura used the body substitution technique to avoid the blazing fireballs. Asuma saw where she went and saw the rapid hand seals she was using. 'That isn't any kind of Katon jutsu!'

**"Kekkai: Yon Koatari!"** (Barrier Art: Four Parts)

Four kunai that were on the ground shone with purple light that in an instant connected to each other and created a four sided rectangular shape around Asuma. The light extended to each of the kunai and then became three dimensional. It was roughly eight feet to a side and eight feet high. Asuma found himself trapped in a barrier. In shock he saw the other kunai on the ground start to expel more poisonous gas, several of the kunai were inside the barrier.

The first thing Asuma tried to do was cut through the barrier with his chakra blades. The blades seemed to cut into the barrier. He could sense chakra being redistributed from around the barrier. If he could cause enough damage to the barrier it would be break and he could get free.

He only had a limited amount of time to do so since the gas was quickly filling his fuinjutsu created prison. Asuma held his breath as he cut into the barrier over and over again. He had slashed the barrier numerous times in the first 15 seconds until he changed tactics.

He used **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) to clear some of the poisonous gas away. Unfortunately the barrier was air tight and the gas just rebound from the barrier walls. He sipped a tiny bit of air and felt the noxious chemical compound filter into his chakra system. With little time he unleashed a powerful Katon jutsu at the far wall of the prison. The fire seemed to scorch the purple walls but again chakra was redistributed and the prison remained intact.

Asuma fell to his knees as the gas choked him and in another few seconds he was unconscious.

Sakura waited another minute before releasing the barrier jutsu. The gas dissipated and Shizune rushed over to the fallen Asuma and demanded to know what was used.

"Shizune-san, it was not lethal. He'll be all right with a day's worth of rest."

Shizune checked to be sure but Sakura was correct. The gas was not lethal it just caused unconsciousness and interfered with the chakra network. It was actually used quite a bit by **Moyagakure** (Village Hidden in the Haze) when they had to take targets down alive.

Ino was positively shocked at the outcome. It had only been two years since they had graduated from the academy. They were all chunin now and they had heard stories about team seven… but this? Sakura had taken down her sensei! Ino loved to gossip and she knew by reputation Asuma was considered by many to be part of the top ten most powerful shinobi in the village. Either rumor was wrong or Sakura had completely eclipsed her when it came to ninja talent.

Kakashi congratulated Sakura and then turned to Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru you are now a jonin of Konohagakure, can you tell me why Asuma was defeated?"

Shikamaru yawned, "It should be obvious."

"Indulge me, Shikaku speaks highly of you and I'd like to see if it is more than a father's pride talking."

Shikamaru shrugged, "Asuma-sensei lost for a lot of reasons. From the start he underestimated Sakura's abilities and was far too passive."

"Go on," Kakashi instructed.

"Sakura did her research, she planned for the fight. She knew he was a Futon user and with that knowledge she set the stage to counter his wind jutsu immediately. More importantly it allowed her to dictate the fight. Every move she took was part of a larger goal. Asuma just took the fight as a series of exchanges. It's probably why his Shogi game needs work."

"Could you do better?"

Shikamaru was surprised by the question, "Probably not. The problem is her Genjutsu and fuinjutsu are so versatile."

Kakashi respected the boy's opinion. Shikamaru was one of the people he had been able to influence peripherally. While Shikaku disagreed with Kakashi's enforced training schemes he had pushed his son to take his training seriously. The fact that Shikamaru was a jonin at 14 was a testament to Shikaku accepting Kakashi's argument that war was coming. Genius without effort made Shikamaru a dangerous target for enemy nin attempting to gain intelligence. By being able to defend himself adequately it made Konoha's secrets far safer.

Naruto walked up to Sakura and said, "We should celebrate! Where do you want to go? My treat."

Sakura was still coming off the post victory high. She had done it. She had defeated an elite jonin of the village. She would have never thought two years ago she would be this strong. Her hope at the time was to snag Sasuke and become his girlfriend. Now she had a passion, a true passion.

"Sure Naruto but everyone from team seven is invited." Sakura had easily seen through his attempted offer of a date.

Naruto snapped his fingers, "Hey a guy has to try right?"

Kakashi slid in next to his two students, "It sure was nice of you to offer to pay for everyone."

Naruto groaned theatrically. Team seven was by no means short of funds. Their equipment came from the village budget itself and that included the largest expenditure, fuinjutsu scrolls and ink. Sasuke had also been watching and only now appeared.

"Nice work Sakura. I'm glad you're on our team."

Sakura felt a warm glow fill her. She had earned Sasuke's respect a long time ago however to actually have him say it was nice.

Sasuke turned to Kakashi, "Gai's training camp for Asuma huh? What's the plan?"

"Not here I'll tell you more back at our training grounds."

*****BREAK*****

Team seven returned from their dinner and headed toward their base of operations. At the gates of Konoha they were met by Neji Hyuga, Gai and Shizune. At Kakashi's signal Naruto created clones and transformed them into his teammates and sent them running in multiple directions. It was standard operating procedure.

They arrived at their base and gave the appropriate signal to the ANBU stationed there. Once inside Kakashi said, "Now I can answer your question Sasuke as well as explain why these three are here."

"Jiraiya-sama has appreciated the results of our rapid response force. We are going to be gaining a second team. That team will consist of Asuma Sarutobi, Shizune, Neji Hyuga and Maito Gai. This will allow us to go with Jiraiya when he meets with the Mizukage while the second team fills in."

Sasuke analyzed the team. Gai and Neji were lethal in close combat, Shizune was support as a medical nin and Asuma had two strong elemental affinities. While they lacked a Genjutsu specialist they were quite strong. Not as strong as his own team but worthy to fill in their shoes while they completed other tasks.

"For the next two months we will also be conducting intense training. Gai will train them in taijutsu and I will train them in ninjutsu and Genjutsu detection. During this time my own team will also be tutored in Gai's specialized fighting style."

Sasuke guessed, "Goken?"

Kakashi seemed amused, "Ah no he'll be teaching a style that has no real name."

Gai laughed, "I invented it so I would not lose our spars automatically to Kakashi's Sharingan eye."

Sasuke instantly put two and two together. Naruto also connected the dots. Sasuke unconsciously let loose his killing intent. Finally all of his training would be put to use. The only reason to be learning Gai's style of countering the Sharingan is if they were going to be going after a Sharingan user. That meant Itachi.

'I will have my revenge!'

Kakashi held up a finger and moved it side to side. "I will have none of that Sasuke. If you cannot control your chakra presence you won't be going along."

Sasuke didn't argue with the rebuke. He simply said, "Hai Kakashi-sensei, it won't happen again."

"Good, let's get started."

*****BREAK*****

When Asuma woke up he was furious with himself. He had been humiliated by a kunoichi half his age. It wasn't a kekkei genkai or hidden bloodline, it wasn't a mastery of ninjutsu or taijutsu, it was none of those. He was outsmarted by someone with a tenth of his experience. It was humiliating and all together frustrating since he would be sidelined against the Akatsuki.

His temper was reined in when Kakashi had told him that they would still use his talents and that the three month training period was to get him up to par. Three months of the harshest training he had ever gone through was on the table. Blistering taijutsu workouts with Gai followed by rapid expansion of his repertoire in ninjutsu were just the beginning.

Asuma likened combat to a game. He found parallels to it with Shogi and he enjoyed the thrill of the sudden twist, the risky gambit that worked and the pleasure of a good fight. A good fight in his mind had an opening where each shinobi felt the other out, an exciting middle game that brought out more advanced jutsu and skills that ultimately concluded with a dramatic climax with him smoking in victory.

Kakashi's version of combat was far different. Kakashi had the lead in the operation and so Asuma had to play by his rules. If you knew the opponents capabilities you should move to kill within the first minute. If you didn't know the opponents capabilities you learned them by keeping your distance and letting clones feel out the enemy. Kakashi was obsessed with analysis and made Asuma go through every step of his fight with Sakura. Every weakness exposed and every counter explored.

Spars were interesting. Kakashi and Sakura would take on the role of Itachi. In the spars the participants were not allowed to touch Sakura as she simply represented Itachi's Genjutsu while Kakashi moved like he thought Itachi would. It was humbling in how badly he failed to even lay a scratch on Kakashi. He suspected the point was to show that Asuma could not fight alone against their target.

Gai and Naruto rotated taking on the role of Kisame. The tailless beast was strong and wielded one of the legendary swords of the mist. Rumor had it that he favored kenjutsu but had a dangerous repertoire of Suiton jutsu. His sword was said to be able to eat chakra making him almost the perfect foe to go against Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke. Instead if Kakashi had his way Gai, Asuma and Neji would work together to take him out. Gai did not use ninjutsu and Asuma and Neji would provide backup. His own team would deal with Itachi and Shizune's primary task was to stay alive and provide medical support.

The first two weeks were hell on Asuma. He was being pushed further then even his old man had done when he was younger. But Asuma persevered. He would take part in wiping out the organization that took the best thing in his life away from him.

*****BREAK*****

A month had passed since team seven had begun their training with the newcomers. Jiraiya looked through Kakashi's report and was satisfied with their progress. Two more events had occurred and both times the rapid response team had saved lives. The economy was booming as the elemental nations looked to Konoha for their missions.

Konoha's teams were kept busy as nobles from all lands sought their shinobi. Naruto Namikaze was requested daily but each time the request was rebuffed. Despite that Konoha's reputation hadn't stood this high since the time of the Shodai. First the failed invasion that proved that Konohagakure could survive a surprise attack from two villages at the same time. Then the return of two of the Sanin. That was followed by the utter destruction of Otogakure. The chunin exams in Kumo, Naruto Namikaze's reveal and the slaughter of the Iwa assassins all built on the past successes.

The Land of Fire was populous and had a strong bond with its hidden village. Konoha had renewed a strong alliance with Sunagakure and was making inroads with the Land of Water. Iwa was defanged and proud Kumo was looking nervously at the growing might of the leaf village.

Shikaku entered and without preamble said, "Four chunin have gone missing. They were on an internal patrol near the Land of Waves." Jiraiya frowned. The Land of Waves hadn't produced anything dangerous since Gato hired Zabuza a couple of years ago. Their economy had recovered and trade with them had flourished but there wasn't anything dangerous in that region.

"Were there signs of combat?"

Shikaku shook his head, "The initial thought is that they went rogue but based on their personality profiles I find it highly unlikely."

It was times like these that Jiraiya wished he wasn't the Hokage. This would be the type of mission that played to his strengths. He was tempted to send Kakashi's team but that would be a waste of resources. Four chunin dead or turned missing nin was unfortunate and he would mourn their loss but it was not something he would send his combat specialist team to look into.

"Have Anko and Iruka draft three chunin each from the pool and send them to investigate."

Shikaku frowned, "You are aware that Anko and Iruka are an item?"

Jiraiya grinned, "Oh I'm more than aware." His sensei's crystal ball was now one of his prized possessions.

"Putting them together could jeopardize the mission if hard choices need to be made."

Jiraiya let his perverted grin fade. "I completely disagree. The strength of Konoha is in the bonds between comrades. Two shinobi in a relationship will know each other better than a random assorting. Iruka is a sensor and Anko has the snake contract that will prove invaluable in an investigation like this."

Shikaku didn't argue the point. Jiraiya was passionate about a few subjects and this was one of them. "We have a month still before the meeting with the new Mizukage. I must still object at the meeting location. On an island a day's journey by ship? If they wanted to ambush us they could just destroy the ship and there would be little you could do to escape."

Jiraiya shook his head, "They aren't going to try anything. They can't afford a war with us. I'm taking Kakashi's team with me so even in the unlikely event something was to happen we can fight our way out.

"You can't fight your way out of an entire village!"

Jiraiya laughed, "If they think they need a village then they aren't going to try anything. If they don't think they need a village we can escape. I know you think I'm being overconfident but I trust my gut on this. She isn't going to try anything."

Shikaku bowed his head, "Very well I'll make the preparations. We'll need to leave in three weeks then." Jiraiya nodded. He was looking forward to getting out of the village for a bit.

*****BREAK*****

Tsunade, Inoichi and Ibiki had worked closely together. Tsunade felt soiled by the 'tests' that they had performed on Hidan. His healing had slowed after a time and it was obvious he needed something or he would perish. It could be calories from food, sunlight, ritual sacrifices or maybe something else. Either way he was slowly dying.

Chakra was life but it was not thought. At least while a shinobi was on this side of death's curtain this was true. That meant that manipulation of the brain itself could be done. On any other human poking around their brain with metal and surgical equipment to measure the consequences would kill them. In Hidan it wouldn't. They found ways to stop an area from healing, typically through the use of inserted objects. With that done they were able to eventually shut down whatever protective chakra Hidan had around his thoughts.

That accomplished, Inoichi was finally able to glean information from Hidan. His thoughts about the other Akatsuki members were of great use. Sadly Hidan had been kept in the dark about the group's ultimate purpose but they were able to confirm that the capture of the jinchuuriki was one of their objectives.

Other tests were performed on Hidan. Tests that made Tsunade feel like Orochimaru. If parts of the brain were removed could cognitive function continue? Which parts? Could the part of the brain that was responsible for pain be severed? Could chakra be used to deaden that area by a shinobi to make them resistant to torture? What poisons and toxins could cause brain death the fastest? Was total mind control a possibility?

Hidan was their test subject for all of this. They had long since ceased to allow him speech. Frozen vocal cords could not regenerate. Parts of his face and head would jerk during their experiments but they ignored the movements. As Hidan's head starved they wound down their experimentation. Just in case they kept all his body parts sealed in a scroll that did not create stasis. His various parts were incinerated and stored. They created a schedule for when they would check on the ashes to make sure they had not started to bond and revive the creature. However based on their analysis Hidan was well and truly dead.

**AN: **I hope everyone liked the Sakura / Asuma fight.

I've been going back to previous episodes and reviewing some of the later villains for the story. I really wonder sometimes if the author of the series knows what he is doing. Guess how many years it was between the Kakashi Chronicles episode (Where Obito 'dies' and Kakashi gets the Sharingan) and when Obito attacks the village and is a significant challenge for Minato. ONE YEAR. Really? It takes one year, a bit of Senju DNA and the Sharingan to take a below average shinobi to the level of Minato the Yellow Flash?

That's just crazy. What are some of the silliness that you dislike about the later plot lines of Naruto? Feel free to let me know and I may kill it in this story (like I intend to do for major portions of the later Shippuden parts). As always I love reviews!


	38. Chapter 37: The Mizukage

**AN: **About my previous AN regarding Obito attacking Konoha only a year after his 'death.'The site doesn't let me send links to the Naruto timeline wiki but here is the simplest explanation I found.

Obito is 13 when he 'died.'

Itachi is 17-18 during Part 1 – According to Naruto wiki which references Naruto Chapter 400 page 4 "When he was only four, Itachi had already witnessed countless lives lost due to the Third Shinobi World War, which emotionally traumatized him and consequently turned him into a pacifist." That would mean that would place the end of the war around 13 years ago. Naruto is born 12 years before series start meaning Obito attacked Minato one year after he 'died.'

That being said it's not a big deal either way. It's fully possible the creator of the series isn't working with an actual timeline and is simply making crap up as he goes along. (Later parts of the magna seem to suggest this)

Recommended Fiction is: "Changing what is to Come" by **juman1994. **This is Kakashi centric so of course I like it! He travels back in time but unlike a lot of time travel stories this is done in a very realistic and epic fashion.

**Chapter 37:** The Mizukage

Naruto eventually had to take his jutsu training outside. Team seven moved a few miles away for Naruto to test his ideas. Naruto had already figured out what he wanted to do he just needed to figure out the best hand seals to make it as efficient as possible.

The jinchuuriki's idea was to gather ever increasing forces of air pressure in the air and then drop it down like a mighty hammer from the sky. His first attempt was a bit underwhelming but Kakashi told him that was to be expected. Naruto kept at it and freely tapped into the kyubi chakra to allow him to test his technique multiple times.

Each day that went by the wind grew stronger and the impact grew wider and more lethal. Finally after several weeks Naruto had most of the final touches to his jutsu finished. He decided to unveil the technique in front his team as well as their backup team.

Naruto began a long string of hand seals. Despite the rapid speed he completed the seals it took him several seconds to finish. All the while an ominous chakra grew from the heavens. Kakashi and Sasuke saw waves of wind natured chakra gather and fold in on themselves. When Naruto finished the hand seals he gave out a massive shout, **"Futon: Sora Tonkachi"** (Wind Release: Sky Hammer).

The folded air screamed down from the sky and smashed into the ground with horrific force. Trees were pulped form the blast as it crashed down. The ground shuddered as the howling fury created an approximate 500 foot diameter circle of destruction. The backlash of dust and debris crested over the shinobi watching. Kakashi hastily put up an earth wall. The jutsu wasn't targeted at them but a tremendous amount of wood and earth was flying through the air.

When the winds died down Kakashi dropped the earth wall and the eight shinobi looked at the massive hole in the ground. They were impressed. Asuma shook his head in amazement. Sasuke gave a short satisfied nod. Gai let out a shout, "NARUTO YOUR YOUTH CAN LEVEL MOUNTAINS!"

Kakashi was used to Gai's antics and let out a chuckle as the others winced. "Good work Naruto. This jutsu doesn't have a huge amount of utility in small squad based combat but against an army or a fortified location it's perfect." Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Thanks but it sure drains me, summoning Gamabunta takes less chakra!"

Kakashi turned to Sakura, "Your job is to create a practical seal that would protect a building from this jutsu." That would be quite the challenge. The seals she created to be placed on the armored plates of gloves were one use only and wouldn't stop a jutsu like that. The problem with a fuinjutsu seal that could stop that kind of attack is that it would take a lot of chakra. The more chakra the less stable the seal. Nearly all seals also leaked chakra so even if she could push enough of her chakra into a more or less stable seal it would leak badly and wouldn't hold up for long.

Sakura frowned but said, "Hai Kakashi-sensei I will see what I can do." The group returned back to their training grounds. It would soon be time for team seven to head out with Jiraiya to meet with the Mei Terumi. After the meeting with the Mizukage, Naruto would begin training senjutsu with the toads. Reverse summoning doesn't take a great deal of effort which would allow him to continue being part of the rapid response team while mastering sage mode. Kakashi was happy with how things were going. Asuma had been true to his word and took the training seriously. Everyone was making progress with Gai's training.

'Itachi won't be easy but the hardest part may be in just finding him. With our spy network only now being rebuilt properly it will be difficult get a location.'

*****BREAK*****

Shikaku was by nature lazy. Being made Jonin Commander was one thing but filling in for the Hokage was far beyond merely troublesome. Not having the massive chakra reserves Jiraiya had, made it impossible for him to use Kage Bunshin the way he did to finish all the paperwork.

His spy network was growing slowly but surely. In his mind he had a web of strings outlined from agent to information broker to mole to spy. Some were unreliable and he had their information weigh little within his own internal scales. But he tested them in subtle ways. An information broker who claimed to know many things could be approached by a third agent claiming to be loyal to another power. That agent could ask something about Konoha that only Kakashi, Jiraiya and he would know. If the information broker provided false information it gave him knowledge on how the broker would act.

He discarded no one. An information broker with no scruples would be an excellent way to pass out false information. Unless of course everyone in the 'game' knew about his falsehoods. Then it may be wise to provide true information to him but false information to trustworthy individuals allowing him to control the flow of knowledge to the other villages.

Outright infiltration was another avenue and he had been given half a dozen ANBU and half a dozen former ROOT infiltration specialists to use as he saw fit. He didn't trust Danzo's dogs but they too were a tool for gathering information. Currently he focused his energies on Kumogakure and learning about the Akatsuki.

Shikaku was deep in thought when Anko and Iruka's report came in by bird. The news was not good. Despite both of their talents there was absolutely no trace of the four shinobi. Iwana Akame was the leader of the chunin squad and he would have wagered the man was completely loyal to the leaf.

'He's dead then, either his team turned on him and became rogue ninja or someone far strong then them killed them and left no trace whatsoever. No witnesses and no signs of battle. Shinobi like Kakashi and Jiraiya could do that to four chunin but even other S class opponents would leave _some_ sign of a struggle.'

With regret Shikaku listed the four chunin as missing nin and would have their names added to the bingo books. Their bounty would be small since chunin without specific secrets or bloodlines were not that critical. Shikaku would be glad when Jiraiya returned. He fervently hoped everything would go well with the meet.

*****BREAK*****

The Godaime Mizukage's auburn hair streamed behind her in the face of the headwind. She was lost in thought as she considered the implications of her meeting with the Hokage. Jiraiya had a reputation for honest dealing and a desire for peace. He had shown mercy to Sunagakure after their betrayal.

On the other hand the man could be ruthless as well. The utter destruction of Otogakure was sudden and personal. Jiraiya was not afraid of getting his own hands dirty. He had also laid the trap for Iwa using his student's son as bait.

'And before he became the Hokage he had two faces as well. The lecherous old man or the fierce toad Sannin who had helped turn more than a few battles in the second shinobi war. I can't assume his request is benign but I can prepare for any treachery.'

The island that had been selected was a training ground for the Kiri hunter nin. They had both agreed to only bring one vessel, dock on opposite ends of the small island and bring with them no more than four bodyguards onto the island. Mei had a score of her best hunter nin in the catacombs of the island that not even the leaf's dojutsu could detect. Ao had personally tested his Byakugan eye against the natural chakra blocking rock formation.

More than that she also had a dozen jonin level shinobi on the vessel with her not counting her four bodyguards. Beyond even that there were a fleet of ships 10 miles away with a large number of shinobi. That far away would foil even the Sharingan and Byakugan senses.

It was with confidence that Mei Terumi stepped onto the island and her four bodyguards shadowed her. Ao was dour as always. Chojuru her newest bodyguard was incredibly nervous almost embarrassingly so however he was also a kenjutsu prodigy. Tsurugi was the head of her hunter nin squadrons and he had been drafted into her guard as well for this meeting. The final member was a kunoichi by the name of Talia. Her face looked like someone had taken a hammer to it. Mei knew that the rest of her body was also scarred and disfigured. She had been in the forefront of many battles in the civil war and her body had paid the price.

The scars and damage had weakened her taijutsu considerably however he Suiton mastery was second to none save Kisame Hoshigaki. And even then Mei believed Talia's mastery of the water element was more thorough. Mei was under no illusions. If the two ever fought Kisame's vastly superior chakra reserves, stamina, physical strength and kenjutsu skills would allow him to slaughter her bodyguard but one couldn't be expected to have everything.

The island was not large so it would only take them an hour to arrive at the rendezvous point. If the meeting went well the Land of Water could begin rebuilding its economy far swifter then it had been. It would also free up shinobi to go on missions who were now carefully guarding against any aggression from the leaf. Kirigakure was paranoid after finally ending the civil war – they knew that they ranked at the same level as Sunagakure. Any of the other major powers could end them.

Worse still was the fact they had no jinchuuriki. Utakata's defection was an S-class secret and she knew that Tsurugi was anxious to get back to his hunt. The wrath of the six tails and their unique geography were their two best deterrents to outright annihilation. Mei's thoughts were interrupted when Ao said, "They have arrived."

They walked another half a mile and came through the clearing. There stood Jiraiya with his formal Hokage robes. Mei thought they suited him. His tall stature and commanding presence ended any thought that the man was harmless. This was the one who ended Orochimaru and fought Hanzo. He was of the generation prior to Mei; he was one of the legends she had grown up hearing about.

Mei internally shook herself. She would not allow nervousness to show. While her history was not as long as Jiraiya's she too was a Kage and not someone to be trifled with. Mei's eyes glanced at the four bodyguards. Unlike her bodyguards they were attired in full ANBU gear including face masks. It was Konoha's tradition to have animal face masks for more important operatives however these masks were blank.

Mei and her entourage moved into speaking distance and the toad sage stepped away from his guardians. He bowed, slightly lower than warranted and said, "A lovely island for a lovely meeting with a lovely woman. Your hospitality is appreciated." She inclined her head to the same degree and replied, "It was my pleasure. I have enjoyed our correspondence and would like to the opportunity to strengthen the bond between our two villages."

The Sannin moved closer and Ao stepped forward. None of the Hokage's bodyguard moved a fraction. She hastily signaled Ao back. The man was loyal and normally full of wisdom but he was over protective and the wrong move could be disastrous.

"Pardon my guards they are a bit overzealous at times."

Jiraiya calmly nodded, "Were I guarding one such as you I would also be overzealous."

'Does he really think I can be bought with flattery?'

Mei wasn't sure if Jiraiya was disrespecting her due to her being a kunoichi or if he was trying to continue to play the 'harmless old pervert' card. It bothered her when she want not able to get a good read on people.

"Perhaps we should begin our negotiations," she replied.

The toad sage smiled warmly, "Of course. As I have written I desire peace between the villages. I have lived through two wars and do not want to see another. Your land is recovering from years of civil war, in exchange for providing goods and supplies at a discounted rate I ask very little."

Mei pursed her lips, "What is this very little?"

"I want assurances that Kirigakure will be the Hidden Mist village and not the Village of the Bloody Mist."

She wondered at what his angle was. "And what would these assurances look like?"

"Peace between villages requires trust. It begins by demilitarizing the border, allowing our merchants to trade freely by sea and restrictions on missions inside **Hi no Kuni** (Land of Fire) and **Kaze no Kuni** (Land of Wind)."

A hidden village's life blood was the ability to take missions. "Restrictions? What restrictions?"

The Hokage explained, "Sanctioned missions offered by nobles, merchants or the daimyo would be acceptable. However missions taken against the interests of Hi no Kuni within its borders would be disallowed by my proposed treaty. The reverse would also apply; we would not take missions into the **Mizu no Kuni** (Land of Water) that are against your interests."

Mei paused to consider. Kirigakure specialized in assassination missions. Hi no Kuni was one of the largest elemental nations and not being able to authorize their favored missions there could curtail that income. On the other hand bringing in much needed goods and supplies would more than make up for it. There were also internal considerations. It could be perceived as being weak and a threat to their autonomy if the leaf mandated what kinds of missions could be taken. But she could always agree to the terms temporarily and once her village was back on its feet do what she wished.

Mei finally spoke, "In general your terms are agreeable for now. However the restrictions last only as long as the discounted goods last."

Jiraiya frowned, "My dream is to have a world where attacks on other nations do not occur, where we can live with our neighbors without threats of violence. Chakra can be used to better the world instead of war with one another."

She kept a scowl off her face. It was obvious that the Hokage was contemptuous of her. His talk of peace and living without war or conflict was absurd. Did he think he could trick her into believing all he wanted was peace and an end to conflict?

'I'll make the deal for now Jiraiya but I won't forget this insult.'

Mei's countenance was free of any of her inner thoughts and instead she laughed lightly, "One step at a time please. Our negotiations will make an agreement that lasts only for a limited amount of time. As we draw closer to the end of the terms we can always renegotiate."

Jiraiya seemed to want to say something but kept his silence. After another moment he eventually said, "Very well let's get down to business. The negotiated period of time will be for a year and…"

The two hammered out the details. Mei was pleased with herself. Her nation could begin rebuilding with the lumber, chakra paper, ore and foodstuffs that were heavily discounted. In exchange there would be no authorized missions to attack targets in Hi no Kuni outside of bandits and missing nin. In addition merchants from the Land of Fire could freely trade by sea without fear of attack and there would be no tariffs or punitive taxes on the goods they sold.

As the negotiations wrapped up Jiraiya gave her a smile. "This is the first step on a long journey of peace between our villages." They shook hands and the two withdrew back to the respective guards. Ao made sure she was all right and then they returned to their vessel.

Ao asked, "Did the negotiations go smoothly?"

"Yes they did. Jiraiya thinks I'm a naïve girl but the offer was more generous than expected. Some will be upset about the conditions but they are only temporary."

Ao had yet to relax and kept a sharp watch. The Sage of Mount Myoboku was a canny individual. Ao had studied all the known information about him in preparation for the meeting and it had been frankly terrifying. The legendary Sannin had more than justified the title of Sannin. One could tell much about a man by his students. His most famous student was Konoha's most deadly assassin the Yellow Flash who had killed over a hundred shinobi in under a minute. Underestimating him would not be a mistake he made. He only marginally relaxed his guard when they were several miles away from the island.

Tsurugi asked for leave to continue the pursuit of Utakata. Mei gave him permission and said, "If possible have him come willingly. It would take a long time to train a jinchuuriki from scratch and we can't afford to lose such a weapon." Tsurugi bowed and quickly rode a wave to another ship that he ordered in another direction.

*****BREAK*****

Jiraiya was back on his own vessel with team seven. "Kakashi how do you think the negotiations went?"

"I believe for the first year they will honor their word beyond that it would be difficult to say. I had my Sharingan active and the Mizukage doesn't trust you. She masked her reactions well but I saw minor changes to her physiology during the discussion."

"Hmm a pity I wouldn't mind getting to know her better."

Sakura twitched from behind her mask.

Kakashi turned to Naruto and began to quiz him about the Mizukage's guards. Naruto was able to provide detailed descriptions of each of their abilities and skills. Chojuru was the only one he had difficulty with due to his age. There wasn't a lot of information about him available.

The random quiz was more a holdover from their early days. Hatake had complete confidence in Naruto's ability to recall information about shinobi that were listed in bingo books or those that Konoha had intelligence on. Naruto was a walking library of all the data Konoha knew about its potential enemies. When the questioning was over Naruto looked at Jiraiya.

"All right pervy sage, I've mastered three tails worth of chakra. I want to train with the toads and learn senjutsu!"

Jiraiya's initial goal was to get Naruto to practice using the kyubi chakra more and more. That was the point of holding out senjutsu training as a carrot if he advanced his ability to use the kyubi chakra. He was certain that the seal crafted by his student was designed to facilitate full use of the bijuu's power. Naruto and Kakashi were not thrilled at all about the idea. Naruto was worried about losing control and Kakashi had concerns about just increasing power without increasing control. Kakashi wanted to treat it as a giant well of chakra to use as opposed to the primarily fighting style of a jinchuuriki.

Jiraiya understood the concern. Kakashi wanted Naruto to advance beyond the power of a jinchuuriki. S ranked shinobi have taken down tailed beasts in the past and jinchuuriki rarely ever unlocked the full power of a bijuu while maintaining control. Kakashi didn't want Naruto's development stunted where he would only rely on the kyubi for power instead of improving himself. But the Yondaime had obviously made the seal to allow his son to use the chakra. And Jiraiya didn't doubt Minato's seal expertise or his reasons.

However a promise was a promise. Jiraiya just hoped that Pa kept a close eye on Naruto during the training. It could be lethal if Naruto wasn't careful.

"Very well Naruto when we get back to Konoha I'll have the toads reverse summon you."

Naruto grinned, "Awesome! With Sage mode I'll be unstoppable. Believe it!"

Sakura spoke up, "All right enough talk about unimportant stuff. Hokage-sama I need you to look at the new formula I designed for this sealing matrix. By inversing the tethered chakra draw it should allow me to…"

Jiraiya blanched. Sakura's theories were making his head hurt. No one had done that to him in the art of fuinjutsu since Minato. While his knowledge still surpassed Sakura's by a great deal her innovative approach was pushing his understanding of seals to the limit. She had a knack for figuring out how things worked and it wouldn't be long before she, like Minato had surpassed him.

"All right let me take a look. Naruto wouldn't forgive me if I let you blow yourself and Konoha to pieces."

*****BREAK*****

The moon lit up the night sky. Temari arrived at the meeting spot and met with the Akatsuki representative. The man was easily identifiable. He was Deidara the S class missing nin from Iwa. Once captain of the Iwa Explosion Corps he had an impressive bounty on his head.

"Right on time, my partner would like you."

Temari glanced around looking for signs of a second shinobi.

"Don't worry Temari-san he is busy elsewhere, I've come alone just like what was asked."

Temari nodded. Temari had faith in her abilities. She had trained with the best of Sunagakure. Her drive had only increased ever since the disastrous chunin exams. Twelve hours a day she devoted to training that included taijutsu, ninjutsu, chakra control, Genjutsu and even a bit of bukijutsu. But the man in front of her was a master of Doton. Earth had the elemental advantage over her affinity. She had faith in her abilities but if Deidara desired it he could probably kill her.

"I bring a message from the Kazekage. You have a deal."

Deidara smiled, "Excellent. Make sure you get a front row seat because my art is sublime."

Temari ignored the comment and turned to go. The Akatsuki took a moment to watch the future Kazekage leave. Using some clay he created a bird and flapped back to meet with Sasori. It was best not to keep him waiting.

*****BREAK*****

The Raikage smashed a desk into kindling at the latest news. Mabui had handed him another report of an attack within **Kaminari no Kuni** (Land of Lightning). The attacks were targeting shinobi on patrol as well as major merchant trade caravans. Mabui winced at the loss of another desk.

"This is the fifth attack this month! Someone is trying to weaken us and I can think of only one village who would dare," growled the Raikage.

"We don't know that it's Konoha," Darui replied.

"Don't be a fool; look at what they are doing."

Darui shrugged, "It could be them but until we capture and interrogate one of them we would be jumping to conclusions."

The Raikage was pacing. Finally he stopped and said, "I want kill teams stationed at strategic locations. And I want you to personally take care of this Darui. Find whoever is doing this and capture them alive if possible."

Darui bowed his head, "I will leave immediately."

The Raikage waved him off and looked out the window.

'It was a mistake to let the Namikaze go. We should have killed the boy and Sharingan no Kakashi while they were here.'

He barked out the next order, "Begin stockpiling supplies. Kunai, ninja wire, explosive tags and food pills."

Mabui left the Raikage alone with his thoughts as she began to carry out her orders.

**AN:** I spent more than a little time talking about how other nations view Jiraiya. He is kind of like the bogeyman if you think about his reputation which really complicates his ability to get people to believe he really wants peace. Recall that Kisame probably the most powerful individual to ever come out of the Mist considered Jiraiya "on another level."

As always please read and review!


	39. Chapter 38: Time Marches On

**AN: **Recommendation this time around is outside of the Naruto universe. If you aren't familiar with Code Geass go watch the anime first. But after that immediately read "Dauntless" by **Allora** **Gale**. It takes a look at what would have happened if Lelouch was found by the Empire a bit prior to the start of the anime.

**Chapter 38:** Time Marches On

Naruto took to sage mode training like a duck to water. His chakra control would never be like Sakura's but it had been honed to an extremely high level. At a minimum he had a few clones every day just work on control which over the course of two years meant that he had decades of chakra control experience. This helped him quickly adapt to the Sage mode process.

The fox's chakra granted him the ability to create the shadow clones but the downside was that Pa was not able to merge with him. He would have to sit still in order to achieve sage mode which made its battlefield applications limited.

However Kakashi taught him to see underneath the underneath. If he couldn't spam clones to help him learn senjutsu because when they popped they would transfer the unbalanced chakra to him, then once he had mastered Sage mode he could create clones to harness nature energy and have them dissipate when needed.

He was able to hold onto sage mode for roughly five minutes which in a fight was an eternity. Sage mode allowed him to move faster, hit harder and power his ninjutsu even further. While not as durable as the kyubi chakra cloak it was still a nice upgrade. And the best part was that he didn't have to fight murderous rage and hate to use it. All said and done he much preferred using senjutsu then his jinchuuriki powers.

Naruto also found the ability to sense chakra with Sage mode to be very useful. He could close his eyes and still sense every living thing around him. He couldn't detect weapons but that was a small price to pay to avoid Itachi's deadly Genjutsu if they ever managed to track down the bastard.

'My time here is done.'

He thanked Ma and Pa for everything again and returned to Konoha. Naruto didn't know when they would be called on to move but as soon as they were called he would be ready.

*****BREAK*****

Darui signaled his team. The enemy had been absurdly hard to track down. Darui was starting to think there may have been traitors to Kumo manning the internal patrols and border stations. He needed a change of plans and that was why he was currently masquerading as common merchant guard.

Darui and his team had picked a route that had been preyed upon and now he could sense the battle was about to start.

'Time to find out who they really are.'

The attack came swiftly with two enemy shinobi letting out blasts of fire. Darui used Kawarimi and avoided a fiery death. Darui saw the others on his team having to deal with a Genjutsu and a stream of kunai.

The attackers were fighting at upper chunin level strength, possibly low jonin. Their ability to suppress their chakra was above normal and they worked with flawless teamwork.

'A point in favor for the Raikage's theory that this is the work of the Leaf.'

Darui went on the offensive with a burst of speed that showcased why he was considered the third most powerful shinobi in Kumogakure. Few would guess that behind his relaxed personality there was an absolutely lethal S ranked shinobi.

His speed surprised the Katon jutsu users and he was able to deliver a vicious kick to the mid section that cracked ribs. He turned on the other and let out a Raiton jutsu designed to stun and paralyze. The attacking shinobi managed to dodge and responded with a volley of kunai with explosive tags attached.

Darui was again too fast and closed the distance easily avoiding the projectiles. He didn't bother drawing his blade and instead just pummeled his opponent with superior taijutsu speed and strength. As Darui prepared the knockout blow his opponent bit down strangely on something in his mouth. His opponent immediately dropped to the ground foaming at the mouth and bleeding from his orifices.

The right hand of the Raikage felt a surge of chakra from his now dead opponent. In a flash he rushed away from the area. A moment later a massive explosion ripped through the dead shinobi. Darui's second opponent attempted to flee but didn't have the speed necessary to outrun Darui.

Another explosion lashed the area. One of his team had taken out another of the attackers. Darui was determined to take the fleeing enemy alive. It was clear that the shinobi had instructions to kill themselves to avoid capture. Darui stopped in his tracks and allowed the other shinobi to gain some distance.

'I'll need to surprise him or it's useless.'

The third explosion signaled that unless he captured this last attacker they were out of luck.

Darui shrank his chakra presence as much as possible and took a circular route to intercept his prey. Coming at another angle he let loose with a **Raiton: Kuropansa** (Lighting Release: Black Panther). The attack deliberately lead the target allowing it to miss but forcing his opponent to halt his forward movement. And then Darui was on him in an instant. His hand grasped the jaw of his opponent not allowing him to bite down. With his other hand he delivered vicious lighting infused strikes to the torso paralyzing and disrupting the man's ability to form chakra or move.

"Sorry but I need you alive," he told shinobi.

Amusement flickered in the eyes of his captive and the same chakra began to build up again. Darui cursed and leapt backward to avoid the cacophonous explosion that nearly killed him.

The attack and scorched him but he had no serious injuries. His team were all elite shinobi and none of them had fallen to the explosions however one had suffered third degree burns that would need to be treated by a medical nin soon or there would be permanent scarring.

Darui had memorized the faces of the enemies he had fought and had not detected any Genjutsu on their bodies. He hadn't recognized them from anyone in a Bingo Book but he would do a thorough check when he returned to Kumogakure.

Something bothered the S-class shinobi. All of their targets had the ability to suppress their chakra signature to a remarkable level. While this was something most jonin could do they hadn't really fought like jonin. Those with smaller chakra pools could also do it fairly well however there were two ninjutsu specialists among them. Typically someone with a small chakra pool did not become a ninjutsu specialist.

It was also obvious that they had some kind of suicide seal on them which suggested someone with a high level of fuinjutsu. What also bothered Darui was why the first shinobi had used a suicide pill in his mouth when it appeared that dying wasn't the only way to trigger it.

'Why not just activate it? It would have given me half a second less to get away? Something isn't right about all this.'

*****BREAK*****

Sakura was on cloud nine. Sasuke had finally asked her out on a date! He was going to take her to a romantic restaurant and there they would begin their beautiful relationship. Two years ago she would have worried about what to wear now she confidently picked out an elegant dress that was sure to wow him.

Sasuke and Sakura were seated in a private booth away from prying eyes. Sakura flushed when Sasuke complimented her on her outfit. They settled in to enjoy the meal and making small talk. And then Sasuke's expression turned serious.

He looked into Sakura's eyes and said, "Do you remember the goals I told the team when we were first assigned to Kakashi-sensei?"

Sakura nodded, "You wished to rebuild your clan and to kill a certain someone. I know that you were talking about Itachi."

Sasuke nodded. "I will not rebuild my clan until Itachi is dead. I am now confident our team has the ability to kill him. I find myself thinking about the future."

Sakura felt her pulse quicken. If she was on a mission she could suppress it but she wasn't so why should she? Was Sasuke going to ask her to marry him? That would be absurdly sudden. She probably would tell him to take it easy but that if he played his cards right the answer would one day be yes.

Sakura smiled at Sasuke. "And what are your thoughts about the future?"

Sasuke's piercing stare caught her. "The rebirth of my clan will require my wife to bear my children."

'If this is his idea of a marriage proposal I swear I'm going to hit him.'

The last loyal Uchiha continued, "Many children. As soon as she recovered from one birth it would be expected that she carry the next."

Now Sakura frowned.

"And while I would only have one wife, it would be foolish to confine the Uchiha bloodline to one pair of genetic material. There would be others I would have to impregnate in order to be sure that the Uchiha can rise again to prominence."

Sakura felt a cold chill crawl up her spine. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you are a strong kunoichi. Because the idea of a shinobi of your skill playing housewife sickens me. Can you be satisfied retiring as a shinobi at the age of 16? Will you be content as I make love to other women?"

Sakura's thoughts were whirling around a mile a minute. "T-there are other ways. You wouldn't have to actually sleep with other people."

Sasuke frowned, "Don't be obscene. The honor of my clan would never permit its sons and daughters to be raised from a laboratory. I will never give my genetic material and seed to the village. Any children I father will know me as their parent, something I cannot guarantee if I were to give out samples."

Sakura pondered the reality before her. She wouldn't be content with giving up fuinjutsu to bear as many children as her body could handle. She would never even consider allowing a husband of hers to sleep with another woman.

Sakura bowed her head, "I… see. Tell me Sasuke did you ever care about me?"

Sasuke's eyes became heated, "Sakura I have never felt what you want me to feel. I don't know if I'm capable of it. And even if I was capable of it, it would not change my decision. My own happiness and desires cannot come before the needs of my clan. But I value you as comrade and as a friend. I would risk my life for you."

Sakura steeled herself, "Very well, I understand. You didn't have to bring me here and get my hopes up."

The raven haired teenager shrugged, "It seemed like the least I could do was to provide you this." Sasuke paused and then continued, "I am not trying to push you off on someone else but I must ask. Why not Naruto? He does have the capacity to love. He adores you. He is the brother I should have had."

'He's right. Naruto has always been there. He's no longer the pariah and he genuinely cares about me. I'll have to think about it.'

She wasn't about to tell him that though. Not after dragging her all the way out here in her fancy dress…

They left the restaurant in silence and returned to their hidden training grounds and living quarters. Sakura had a lot to think about.

*****BREAK*****

Darui reported back to the Raikage. In the room with the Raikage was only Mabui his assistant and Samui a trusted jonin.

"Well?" The Raikage asked without preamble.

Darui bowed and said, "We were unable to take any prisoners. All of them had a suicide seal on their bodies that prevented their successful capture."

"Who were they?"

Darui was silent for a moment and then answered, "All four of them were Konoha shinobi recently listed in their bingo books."

Mabui winced as the village leader pulped another desk.

"Do they think we are fools? If they want war I'll give it to them!"

Darui responded, "Lord Raikage I don't know if it truly was Konoha. Things aren't adding up. How did a squad of chunin run circles around our border guards? What were they hoping to accomplish?"

The Raikage frowned angrily, "We may have traitors and they could have allowed them to pass."

"Possibly but I rotated the guard squads. I don't believe we could possibly have that many disloyal shinobi."

Mabui asked, "Could the Namikaze have the Hiraishin?"

"And he would reveal such a weapon to put four chunin in Kumo to raid merchants?" Darui hadn't put even an ounce of scorn in his voice but his disbelief was evident.

The ruler of Kumo asked, "Well then what do you think is going on?"

Darui casually shrugged, "I don't have enough information. I see three possibilities. One is that Konoha is probing our defenses and actually wants war. In this case they are using some new training method or jutsu to hide chakra presence and they didn't expect to run into a kill team of my caliber."

Darui held up a second finger, "Two, a third party is trying to drive us to war with Konoha. They have presented just enough evidence to point to the leaf as the culprit."

"And the last option is that the Hokage or possibly someone else with the leaf village is attempting to create a war but wants us to be the aggressor so their allies in Suna will back the conflict."

"Danzo," the Raikage muttered the name like a curse.

No one spoke as they pondered the possible options. Finally Samui asked, "What will be our response then?"

The Raikage let his gaze wander toward the window. The view was always peaceful but it did nothing to calm him down now.

"We prepare for war. Two of those options lead us directly to conflict with the leaf. And if it isn't the leaf then someone else is to blame and needs to pay. Mabui schedule a meeting with the feudal lord. Darui make arrangements with Iwa. I am going to visit the old man personally. If war comes we will need Iwa at our side."

His subordinates went about their tasks as the Raikage let some of his Raiton chakra flow over his body.

'War is coming. We will be ready. My father was right, there will be always war the only difference is do we wish to be the winners or the losers.'

*****BREAK*****

Team seven was starting to get frustrated at the lack of news. It had been another three months and there wasn't any information about their target. They had gone out on only one rescue operation and despite their rapid response time they had been too late.

Sasuke continued to add more and more jutsu to his library but they did little to enhance his power. One only had enough chakra to do so many jutsu in battle. This was why Kakashi the master of a 1000 jutsu only used a reliable handful outside of extreme cases.

Naruto was reaching a plateau in his weight and speed training. There was only so far you could take your body before it was functioning at maximum ability. The increase in speed and strength did not continue climbing to infinity. His kenjutsu was improving as was his fuinjutsu abilities under Sakura's tutelage.

Sakura had made progress on her barrier seals. Stopping the **Futon: Sora Tonkachi** (Wind Release: Sky Hammer) was incredibly difficult. However she had come up with a workable model. The new seal she had designed did not stop the power of the Sky Hammer it instead spread it out horizontally. The seal tags had to be many miles apart but doing so allowed the impact to be dispersed by a factor of a 100 if the diameter was expanded by a factor of a 100. The shock wave of the attack would feel little more than a heavy wind.

And because the force of the blow wasn't actually being repelled it didn't take a massive amount of chakra to create. Jiraiya loved the concept and soon the village became dotted with those barrier seals as well as others of her creation.

Sakura's next project was to delve into space time jutsu. Recreating the fourth Hokage's jutsu would allow her team to flash to an ally in need of aid in a moment. And there Sakura reached a massive brick wall. She simply could not understand the Yondaime's seal structure. It didn't make any sense. What he developed was impossible! Sakura was quickly becoming very grumpy to be around.

Kakashi also was perturbed. He could feel it in his bones that something was going to occur. Shikaku had done a great job of standing up a spy organization but the data was untested and Shikaku himself stated it couldn't be fully relied upon. But what it did say was that Kumo was preparing for war and the number of exchanges between Iwa and Kumo had increased rapidly.

Jiraiya had made several attempts to open up negotiations with the Raikage but they were all rebuffed. The Akatsuki had been sighted in a few minor villages and in the Land of Wind of all places but none of the sightings were of Itachi or his partner Kisame. Kakashi was tempted to go out and attempt to capture these Akatsuki members but he suspected like Hidan they would be nearly impossible to break.

Events were heading to a boil and Kakashi didn't know the lay of the land. Every operation he had done with team seven had been methodically planned and involved overwhelming force and backup support at the ready. Kakashi had a sense of dread that the next real battlefield would be on the enemy's terms.

*****BREAK*****

Temari was impressed. She observed the battle from quite a safe distance with a squad of highly trained jonin around her. The Ichibi, the great Shukaku roared and the desert rumbled with its power.

But for all its might the Ichibi was losing. It was losing against a laughing man screaming about art across the horizon. Over and over again the tailed beast attempted to swat the offending Akatsuki member out of the sky and each time the bird like clay construct swooped out of the way. Deidra rained explosions that could level entire villages down on the raging bijuu slowly weakening it.

All it would take was on hit from **Futon: Renkudan** (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet) to end the laughing blond but that strike never occurred. Eventually the one tailed beast collapsed utterly exhausted, its near limitless chakra had temporarily dropped to near critical levels.

Deidra had a partner who had yet to be identified by Suna. Whoever the partner was he was good with fuinjutsu as a web of chakra laced around the fallen demon. Slowly and inexorability the demon was dragged across the sand. If the demon wasn't the reason for her brother's death she could almost feel pity for its echoing cry.

Deidra approached and jumped to the sand. "Well? What did you think?"

Temari neutrally responded, "It was effective."

"It was more than that my dear! It was the perfection of a single moment; you are honored to have seen it."

"Right… well I'll leave you to it. Take it out of our territory."

Deidra grinned, "Have no fear Kazekage to be, the Ichibi will never be seen again."

"Good."

*****BREAK*****

Team seven had been invited to the wedding ceremony. Anko and Iruka had seen no point in waiting. The life expectancy of a shinobi was all too brief and they wanted to make their happiness official. It was not a wedding for the masses, the lingering suspicion of Anko had not fully departed. Not that Anko really helped in that department as she openly talked and seemed to delight in her work as one of the chief interrogators of Konoha's Torture & Interrogation department.

In addition to team seven, the 'rookie 9'were there as well. Iruka was a well liked teacher. In addition Ibiki and others from the T&I department were present. The ceremony did not last long. Naruto was all grins, glad to see one of his precious people was happy. Sakura looked at the scene wistfully and Sasuke stoically.

After the ceremony was complete everyone congratulated the happy couple. Naruto said, "Congratulations Iruka-sensei! I got you a gift." Iruka took the package and then opened it to reveal the complete Icha Icha series. "I know you already have the full set but these are all autographed!"

Iruka blushed crimson. He did NOT have a collection! It was smut and its literary content was devoid of all value. He caught a flash of Anko's killer intent and he looked at her with wide eyes.

"H-he's lying! I don't r-read it I promise!"

The killing intent faded and Anko laughed, "Oh that was perfect, great job Naruto!"

Naruto was laughing up a storm at Iruka's expression. Iruka composed his face and tried to salvage what was left of his male pride.

Naruto snickered, "I'm just looking forward to being an older brother to your children so don't take too long."

Iruka refused to rise to the bait and went to greet the other guests.

Prank complete Naruto went to take the books away and Anko pulled out a kunai, "Hands off you gave them to us fair and square." Naruto looked at Anko and blinked a few times, "Oh not you too!" Anko smiled, "You'll understand when you are older."

"I'm fifteen!"

Anko waved goodbye with the books well in hand.

'Damn. I'll need to get Jiraiya to sign a fresh set of copies for Kakashi-sensei or I'm so dead!'

Ibiki let out a rare chuckle as Naruto's forlorn expression.

"Kid you might be a dangerous shinobi but you need to learn to read people better."

Naruto was surprised the Ibiki of all people had approached him. The head of the T&I wasn't known for his outgoing personality.

He shrugged sheepishly, "Most women hate the series! I know Anko is weird but what were the odds?"

Ibiki just chuckled again, "Like I said kid you got a lot to learn how to read people better."

The young jinchuuriki frowned at Ibiki's retreating figure. What was he implying by that comment? He let the thought go. For all he knew the guy was just trying to mess with him. He had heard stories about him from the rest of his peers going through the first round of the chunin exam a couple of years ago.

Naruto passed the time by catching up with the others who were in his class. Choji's artificial foot had not hindered his shinobi career after the initial rocky start. He still couldn't use his clan jutsu at a 100% but it was close enough. Shikamaru was a bit less lazy and Ino was just as he had remembered her.

Hinata was no longer shy. She and Kiba had gotten closer. Shino was the same old Shino; he never really could tell what was going on behind the coat and glasses. He greeted each in turn and asked how they and their teams were doing.

As the celebration wrapped up Naruto reflected fondly on the day. It was a nice change of pace and he knew based on Kakashi's tense state that something big was going to happen soon. This could be the last time he saw all of his friends alive.

'What a morbid thought.'

Naruto was not for pessimism and so quickly buried the thought and started thinking of what new cool jutsu he could come up with next.

**AN: **I hate being sick! It kills all my motivation to write. Hopefully the worst has passed sorry about the delay. Please read and review!


	40. Chapter 39: War Plans

**AN: **The worst part of bronchitis is coughing at night. Sleep deprivation SUCKS! Thankfully I'm mostly over it now and I hope to start updating at a brisker pace.

**Chapter 39: ** War Plans

Deidra stretched and yawned.

"You've slept enough let's go," Sasori's artificial voice growled out.

"Some people actually need to sleep you know."

"I don't like to be kept waiting."

Deidra waved off his concerns and popped a few of his joints. After a few moments he said, "All right my man let's get going. Have your spies found out where the Isobu is hiding?"

"Yes."

Sasori began moving and Deidra followed. If it wasn't for the fact Sasori was another artist, of a different style of course, Deidra would be most irritated at having to work with him. He rarely spoke other than to complain that something was taking too long and making him wait.

His partner's dour attitude couldn't keep Deidra's spirits down. His battle with the Ichibi was glorious and now he was going to get to showcase his art a second time. He was already planning out the series of ever escalating explosives. The only dark cloud on the horizon is that he would have to hold back somewhat. He couldn't risk killing the three tailed beast. Pein would be livid and as much as the Akatsuki appreciated his talents he may not survive if in his zest for art he killed the bijuu. It wouldn't be dead permanently of course but Pein was not a patient man.

"I wonder what our next target will be," Deidra idly mused.

His gravelly voiced partner responded, "With Itachi and Kisame dealing with the two tails I suspect we'll be responsible for the Yonbi or the Gobi."

Deidra wondered when their leader would get his hands dirty. Pein was a bit of a mystery even to the rest of the Akatsuki members though none doubted his power. Deidra attempted more idle talk but Sasori wasn't much of a conversation partner.

'At least I'm not paired with that bastard Itachi.'

*****BREAK*****

Tsurugi had not made any progress in his search for Utakata. His hunter nin were spread to every corner of the land but no one had sighted him. And then out of the blue he felt demonic chakra on the wind. Signaling his two companions he raced toward it. Could Utakata be in a battle? Had he loosed the Rokubi on an enemy?

As he got closer to the demonic chakra he started to hear the sounds of explosions. His thoughts were racing as he broke out of the clearing. In front of him was not Utakata but the three tailed beast. It was thrashing in the water of the lake as explosion after explosion sent great plumes of water rocketing to the sky.

Tsurugi looked up and saw the tailed beast's assailant. The man wore black robes with red clouds and was standing atop a massive clay bird. Explosions filled the water and air and Tsurugi weighed his options. By rights the bijuu belonged to the Hidden Mist Village not to these intruders.

Tsurugi moved to interfere when a second figure in robes shuffled in front of him. "Tsurugi of Kirigakure, this battle does not involve you. Leave or die."

Tsurugi didn't bother replying and instead created several water clones and charged with his blade drawn. The head of the Kiri hunter nin was a feared and powerful opponent. He well deserved his A ranked status and while he had no kekkei genkai he was highly skilled with Suiton and kenjutsu.

Against Akasuna no Sasori he and his companions stood no chance.

The Hidden Mist ninja were soon dead and Deidra had finished his battle with the bijuu. Deidra landed next to Sasori, "Oh it looks like you managed to have some fun too." Sasori ignored his loud mouthed companion and sealed away the bodies in a sealing scroll. Tsurugi would make a fine addition to his collection.

*****BREAK*****

It had taken far longer to set up the meeting with Onoki than the Raikage would have liked. But finally after much negotiation by proxy and messages sent back and forth the two were going to meet in the no man's land in between the Land of Waterfalls and the newly renamed Land of Rice Fields.

In the past several months the Raikage had not been idle. He had spoken with the Lightning Daimyo and the man had also been concerned about the growing threat that Konoha presented. The Daimyo fully backed the request for additional funds and man power. Shinobi wars were determined by shinobi however trained soldiers in numbers had their uses as well.

The Raikage had C and Darui with him, both parties had agreed the smaller the entourage the better. He was nearing the border of the Land of Rice Fields when a shinobi messenger raced toward them. The Raikage could clearly see the Kumo symbol on his forehead protector and so they waited. His bodyguards tensed slightly, not nervous but wary.

"Lord Raikage I have an urgent message."

Darui took the message from the chunin and read it. Darui rarely showed his expression but in this instance he did. His face fell and he looked toward the leader of his village.

"What is it?" The Raikage asked impatiently.

"Yugito Nii has been abducted."

The leader of Kumo's normal reaction to hearing bad news would be to smash his desk to kindling. But with no desk in sight he merely slammed his fist into his palm.

"Who did this?"

Darui shrugged, "It isn't unclear there weren't any witnesses left alive. At some point Yugito transformed because the report states that demonic chakra could be felt for miles around."

The Raikage radiated killing intent and rage and looked out across the border. "It was Konohagakure. Who else could get into our territory and attack one of our best shinobi? This changes everything. Regardless of what Iwa will do we must strike now."

Darui wasn't completely convinced that Konoha was responsible but the evidence was starting to become too damning to argue against.

C spoke up, "I guess that makes the meeting with old man that much more important."

The Raikage nodded and they took off at a brisk pace toward the meeting spot. It took another half a day of travel to arrive. There was no sign of the Tsuchikage yet, they were a bit a bit earlier spurred on the by the news of Yugito's capture.

The waited in silence and then C subtly signaled Darui and the Raikage. They were being watched. Whoever was hiding their chakra was incredibly skilled but C was one of the world's most sensitive sensors and so he picked up the faint trace.

The Raikage and Darui both attempted to sense the shinobi but could not locate him. C signaled the direction and indicated that their opponent was hiding within the earth itself. That made sense since they were meeting someone from Iwa. The immediate thought was that there could be a possible ambush and that the Tsuchikage had betrayed them.

The Raikage was impatient and was in no mood to play games. "Come out already! Tell the fence sitter that we came to talk not fight!"

C felt the chakra presence shift and then disappear. He waited a few moments and then said, "Lord Raikage whoever it was, they are now gone."

"Hmm maybe the spy reported back to Onoki. The old man can be cautious at times," the Raikage declared.

They continued waiting and a few minutes before the appointed meeting time C let them know that a party of three of individuals were approaching.

The Raikage asked, "Does one of them have the same chakra as the first?"

The blond shook his head in response.

Soon the three came into view. The first was obviously the Tsuchikage. His appearance was known throughout all of the elemental nations. On his right was Juro Suzumori a skilled sensor thanks to his bloodline. To the left of Onoki was Akatsuchi, his regular bodyguard. The Kumo nin didn't know too much about the large man other than the fact he had to be quite the capable shinobi if he was acting as a bodyguard to the village leader.

The Raikage stepped forward first, "I'm glad you agreed to meet with us. I wouldn't have asked you to come if it wasn't vital to both of our villages."

Onoki made a harrumph sound and replied, "I'll be the judge of that."

The Raikage proceeded to explain in detail what happened. The attacks within his country, the missing leaf nin and most troubling of all the abduction of the Matatabi.

"Jiraiya speaks of peace but he is two faced. He is making alliances with other villages, increasing the strength of his village and gathering resources. Konoha's strength grows by the day. Their shinobi are in highest demand and all are afraid to trespass within Hi no Kuni. They dealt your village a heavy blow and now they have taken one of my jinchuuriki. I ask that you join with me and end this threat before it is too late."

Onoki rubbed his chin, "I miscalculated badly last time I attempted to hurt the leaf. I lost dozens of jonin and over a hundred chunin. My village has yet to recover and our income is low. My village isn't prepared to fight a war; we haven't been building our military strength like yours."

The Raikage refused to mock the older village leader for his lack of foresight. He needed his help after all.

"All the more reason to strike now as opposed to later! Do you wish to wait for the Namikaze brat to finish growing up? He was already jonin level when he took the chunin exams. When he reaches adulthood there is little doubt he will be S-class."

That was one argument that was very convincing to Onoki. His village had lived through the terror of the Yellow Flash and he had little desire to ever feel that powerless again. It was part of the reason why he had sent so many shinobi after Naruto in the first place. Onoki had a choice. He could try to stop the leaf now or let Kumo face off against them alone. Ideally the two would decimate each other but with names like Tsunade, Jiraiya and Kakashi he wasn't certain that the infamous A B combo would be enough.

"Have you received support from your Daimyo? Have you gathered any other allies?"

The Raikage responded, "I have the full support of the feudal lord. **Moyagakure** (Village Hidden in the Haze) and **Shimogakure** (Village Hidden in Frost) will be providing shinobi support. **Yugakure** (Village Hidden in Hot Water) will be allowing passage through their lands."

Onoki knew that the minor villages weren't going to be a major factor however even an extra bit of help could swing a battle. In the end the choice for the Tsuchikage was based on his hatred for the name Namikaze.

"Very well. You have your alliance; together we will raze Konohagakure into the ground."

The discussion didn't end there of course. They had plans that needed to be made as well as a lengthy discussion on how to divide the potential spoils. Kumo still greatly desired the Byakugan and Iwa would love add a third jinchuuriki to their village. In the end the Raikage knew the history of his village and the number of deaths it took to finally control the eight tails. Iwa could have the Kyubi and Kumo would retake the Matatabi and gain access to the surviving bloodlines of the village.

In regards to the actual war the plan was very direct. Iwa would make the first move and launch an attack on Takigakure. Konoha was likely to respond to the aggressive action against one of their allies. After Konoha moves to defend their ally the Raikage would personally lead an assault on Konoha. A secondary force would strike towards the Fire Daimyo and again Konoha would be burdened with having to split their forces to protect the feudal lord. A third group would attack the major villages and cities of Hi no Kuni. The third group would be made up of primarily the Lighting Daimyo's soldiers, samurai trained mercenaries and shinobi from Moyagakure and Shimogakure.

Suna would likely attempt to aid the Leaf but by the time they were mobilized the battle for Konoha should have been decided. If the Raikage failed and a protracted war ensued Iwa would square off with Suna.

As the negotiations and plans were wrapping up, Onoki dropped a bombshell.

"I will be going with you on the attack on Konoha."

The announcement even provoked a reaction from Darui. The idea that the leader of another village would be part of their attack group was surprising.

The Raikage replied, "It would tip off Jiraiya if you joined your forces with ours."

The Tsuchikage shook his head, "No my forces will not be joining yours. I alone will personally be joining with you on the attack. The power of two village leaders together will be nearly impossible to stop."

Darui asked, "You seem to trust us quite a bit if you are willing to join us by yourself."

The old man's face twisted in a frown, "It isn't so much that I trust you it's that I know that Konoha is the bigger enemy. Harming me would harm your chances of victory so you won't do it."

Onoki's two bodyguards protested but the Tsuchikage was firm in his decision. "Kitsuchi is my heir if something were to happen to me. Return back to Iwa and let no one know where I am. Juro I need you and Kitsuchi to plan in the invasion of Takigakure. We will play our parts fully so do not stint on resources."

They bowed and vowed to be successful. Onoki turned back to the Raikage, "Let's go."

*****BREAK*****

Pein had new orders for Itachi and Kisame. Zetsu had learned that Iwa was going to be invading Takigakure and that put the seven tails at risk. While Iwa would likely try to capture the jinchuuriki alive so they could facilitate resealing the bijuu into an Iwa host there existed the possibility in the heat of battle that they could go overboard and kill the demon container.

"Stealth will be necessary as you are entering into a war zone. Do not try to destroy everything in your path, take the Nanabi and leave. The five tails will be there as well but it would be too risky attempting to take both."

Kisame grinned, "Aw that takes the fun out of it."

Pein was in no mood to banter, "Do not argue. I refuse to wait another three years for my plan to reach fruition."

Kisame inclined his head in a semi mocking fashion, "Yeah yeah we'll be careful." Kisame and Itachi both headed out leaving Pein alone with Konan and 'Tobi.' Pein looked toward the one he believed to be Madara Uchiha. "You wish to capture the Yonbi yourself?"

The Uchiha responded with a deep voice, "Yes, it will drive Iwa further into warfare with Konoha. Both Iwa and Kumo are convinced Konoha has developed a new infiltration jutsu."

The Yonbi had been recalled back to Iwa and was now stationed there as the village's most potent defense against attack. Pein watched the man disappear without a trace. They had succeeded in capturing a third of the jinchuuriki and he had no doubt the four tails would be captured. Kisame and Itachi was his best two man squad and he had little doubt they would also succeed in capturing the Nanabi. They wouldn't be able to extract her bijuu from her yet. That would have to wait until the five tails and six tails were in their grasp.

But it wouldn't be long now. The two largest hurdles would be Killer B and Naruto. At that point Pein would intervene personally.

*****BREAK*****

The Godaime Hokage was in his office when the urgent request for aid from Takigakure arrived. He read through the missive. Iwa wasn't bothering with a surprise attack they had thrown down the gauntlet and declared war on Takigakure. They had stated they would allow nothing less than unconditional surrender.

To back their words they were massing an army that would soon reach the borders of the Land of Waterfalls. While the small village liked to think they were 'hidden' they couldn't actually hide a village with chakra presences from good sensor shinobi. One member of the Suzumori clan would be all that it would take to locate them.

Jiraiya would have to move soon but they had a couple of hours for the issue to be discussed. Jiraiya called for the larger council to meet within 30 minutes. Technically Jiraiya could order shinobi to do what he wished but war with Iwa was something that the clan heads needed to weigh in on. The Hokage who ignored the wishes of its strongest clans would likely have a repeat of the Uchiha crisis.

He didn't have long to wait until the clan heads and Kakashi arrived. In attendance were Tsunade, Danzo, Hiashi, Shibi, Inoichi, Choza, Shikaku, Kakashi, Hana and one of the Sarutobi elders. Hana had formerly taken leadership of the Inuzuka clan and was leading with a steady hand. Kakashi wasn't here as a clan head but as his advisor.

Jiraiya didn't waste time and immediately laid out the issue on the table. "Iwa has decided to attack Takigakure. In order to stop them our forces will have leave within the next few hours. Takigakure reports that an army far greater than their shinobi force is marching on them."

Shikaku asked, "Were they able to give any specific numbers?"

Jiraiya shook his head, "Sadly no but we know Takigakure has a little over 200 shinobi if they pull back everyone on missions and bring out their few retirees. An army far larger probably means many times their size."

Tsunade let out a growl, "Hasn't Iwa had enough death? We left 200 of their best shinobi dead and now they want more? What could they possibly hope to accomplish?"

"Perhaps they wish to acquire a third tailed beast?" Shibi ventured a guess.

Kakashi had been considering what Iwa was after. A third jinchuuriki would make Iwa fearsome but it took time for train a jinchuuriki and in the meantime a weakened village with three potential powerful weapons would be a tempting target. Kakashi voiced his opinion, "The Tsuchikage has to know we won't stand for their aggression against one of our allies."

Jiraiya nodded, "Could this be another attempt on Naruto?"

Shikaku shook his head, "Doubtful. They have no intelligence on where Naruto might be right now. It would be incredibly foolish to start a war on the off chance Naruto is available to be part of the relief force."

The oldest individual there was Danzo who raised his voice, "This is obviously a trap of some sort. They must be anticipating us and either have allied with Kumo or have a plan to trap and kill any support forces we provide."

Jiraiya calmly looked at the former leader of ROOT. "I won't sit idly by and let an ally fall because there _might_ be a trap."

Danzo looked around at the gathered clan leaders and knew he had little backing. Jiraiya was a respected Sanin and the one who had avenged their beloved Sandaime. Hiashi might have backed him if there was anyone else at the table that would but in that absence he remained silent. Danzo suppressed a sigh and finished saying his piece. "You are intent on your course, I am merely suggesting caution."

Jiraiya gave him a level look and the council debated how many forces they should send. In the end Jiraiya decided on sending 50 squads, or 200 shinobi. No genin would be participating in the conflict so the bulk of the forces would be chunin. There were however a number of jonin that would be going with them. Based on the squad selections Shikamaru Nara, Aoba Yamashiro, Gekko Hayate, Kanden Tekuno and another half dozen jonin were part of the relief force. Hana Inuzuka also volunteered. Jiraiya attempted to convince her otherwise due to the guilt he had over her mother's death but she was adamant. While no jonin from the Hyuga were taking part, the clan was contributing a dozen branch family members whose eyes would help guard the force from ambush.

In addition to that Konohagakure's heavy combat squad, team seven, would be at the forefront. Kakashi would have leadership of the amassed Konoha shinobi.

Jiraiya also gave additional orders, "From this point forward Konoha will halt all missions. Inform the Fire Daimyo that war is on our doorstep. Call up all retired shinobi and place them in the reserve forces. The Academy will be temporarily closed so that the instructors can assist if this war spreads."

Konoha prepared for war. Many of the seals that Sakura had pioneered were reinforced and now dotted the village. Weapon smiths worked double time to create additional kunai and other ninja tools. Word spread by bird to the defense posts and shinobi stationed in the towns and villages that dotted Hi no Kuni. The Godaime Hokage hated war but he was more than prepared to fight one if it turned out to be necessary.

*****BREAK*****

Less than two hours after the council meeting concluded 204 shinobi left Konoha and headed for Takigakure. They travelled a brisk pace that pushed some of the chunin to their reserves. Kakashi wanted to get there swiftly in case Iwa moved faster than anticipated and prepared for their arrival.

Kakashi had spoken with Shikamaru Nara. Despite the boy's youth he had made him second in command. And since Kakashi intended to be with his team in the thick of things once the battle began Shikamaru would be the one calling the shots once battle was joined. Shikamaru pulled some strings and had taken Ino and Choji out of their teams and onto his command squad. It was rounded out with Rock Lee.

Kakashi himself had suggested Gai's protégé as the fourth member. The boy's taijutsu was at jonin level and with access to the Hachimon he could temporarily fight almost anyone short of an S class nin.

Sasuke of course was itching for a fight. They had defeated Iwa right after their Chunin exams and had only gotten stronger since then. He hoped they would bring Han to the fight again because he really wanted to deliver some payback on the Iwa jinchuuriki.

Sakura was a bit perturbed about her fuinjutsu research being put on hold while they dealt with Iwa. She was also concerned about the loss of life. She disliked killing. She had become desensitized to it in the heat of battle but she still longed for the Hokage's dream of peace.

Naruto was also ready for a fight. He had trained in Sage mode and had sparred with his teammates but this was going to be the real deal. He knew his taijutsu in Sage mode was nearly unstoppable. In fact in a pure taijutsu battle he could defeat Kakashi-sensei. If ninjutsu was allowed, Kakashi still had the edge.

Naruto moved over to where his former classmates were and started a conversation. "Hey Shikamaru how's it feel to be the official number two of our army?"

"Troublesome."

Ino laughed, "You used to make me so mad when you said that."

Choji shivered slightly, "You were scary back then."

Somehow despite moving at a brisk pace Ino managed to look affronted. "Me?"

Naruto laughed at the byplay between the former members of Team 10.

Rock Lee interjected, "It is good to fight by your side Naruto! We will showcase the flames of our youth and protect our ally!"

Naruto agreed cheerfully, "Believe it!"

Shikamaru was regretting listening to Kakashi when it came to their fourth squad mate. He didn't have anything against Lee personally but he was loud and talked about youth far too much.

The Nara looked at Naruto closely, "Naruto my father said that Iwa was up to something. Since you fought them awhile ago any idea of what we might be facing?"

Naruto gave it some thought and responded, "I'm not sure. We beat their face in pretty badly last time. Kakashi agrees that something else is up. He thinks it's likely that Iwa cut a deal with another major village. Kumo sounds obvious but we were there when Jiraiya met with the Mizukage. She doesn't trust us and might be willing to help launch a preemptive strike."

"If that's the case it's doubtful they will play a part in this battle," Shikamaru mused.

"It's also possible that Suna is going to backstab us again. We figure the probability of that is low but the chance exists. Kakashi respects what your dad is doing with the spy network but it's too new to be relied on."

Shikamaru considered the possibility and also came to the conclusion it was unlikely. "Any other possibilities?"

Naruto nodded, "A lot of them. It could be Iwa cut a deal and is being betrayed, it wouldn't be the first time. In the second great shinobi war it happened quite a bit. That would probably be the best outcome honestly."

Naruto went on, "And then there's always the chance that the Tsuchikage is just going senile. It might be misinformation being fed to us but the word is that the Tsuchikage has a hair trigger temper and all of Iwa is afraid to be near him."

Lee chimed in, "How un-youthful of him."

Naruto laughed, "Good one Lee."

Lee looked confused for a moment trying to figure out why the others were laughing at his remark. The irony of calling one of the oldest shinobi alive "un-youthful" was lost on him.

Ino looked at Naruto impressed. "Wow you've come a long way in three years. I never would have thought you would know so much based on how you studied back in the Academy."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Yeah well I've been reading a lot and Kakashi-sensei is simply amazing."

Shikamaru had to agree. There were few shinobi that earned his father's respect. Really it was only the Hokages and his teammates Inoichi and Choza. However Kakashi was also held in that same esteem, if not greater. What Kakashi had done with team seven was nothing short of miraculous. It was unheard of that a genin with almost no combat ability could defeat an elite jonin in less than 3 years of training. Nor was it heard of that the dead last of the class could be turned one of the most lethal shinobi in all of Konoha, a virtual one man army. While everyone expected great things from Sasuke it was what he had done with Naruto and Sakura that had shown the village that Kakashi was a genius sensei.

Naruto warned them of one last theory, "It might also be possible Iwa is looking at quality over quantity. I don't think it's likely but if the Tsuchikage is desperate enough to save face and bring home a win he might be coming personally. If he comes along with both Roshi and Han we could be in for a serious fight. Those three together would be incredibly deadly and we would have our work cut out for us.

Shikamaru eyes widened a fraction. Trying to figure out a plan on how to defeat a monster like Onoki backed by two jinchuuriki with a strong mastery of their bijuu would be a nightmare. He fervently hoped that wasn't the case but if it was he was already working on stratagems that might prove effective.

*****BREAK*****

Juro and Kitsuchi had followed their leader's orders and had not short changed the invasion force. An argument had risen when they needed to decide who to leave behind in charge of the village while the Tsuchikage was gone. Both Kitsuchi and Juro wanted to be on the front lines redeeming Iwa's honor and reputation.

Ultimately Kitsuchi pulled rank and Juro was forced to stay behind and run the village until the return of the Tsuchikage or Kitsuchi. Since he was not going he sent several members of his clan in his stead including his son and heir Jouichirou. He had made jonin a year back and was still somewhat headstrong but his skill with Doton and their bloodline abilities were solidly above average.

Kurotsuchi would accompany her father Kitsuchi into battle as well. Akatsuchi would be acting as her bodyguard, much to her annoyance. Iwa's forces were somewhat scattered and on missions when the orders came to mobilize. The invasion force however was still going to be considerable. Over a thousand shinobi would be taking part.

Unlike the four hundred shinobi that went with Juro to ambush the Namikaze these were not all made up of chunin and jonin. A number of their soldiers were genin. Kitsuchi was primarily using them for non combat roles but there was a chance many of them would die if the fight got ugly. It was a necessity but he disliked it.

The solid core of their force was chunin. Kitsuchi wished he had more jonin but so many had died in the failed mission against the Namikaze that there just weren't that many left filing combat roles that weren't on important missions. A and S ranked missions were only performed by jonin and many of them took time. The order to recall them had been sent out but the time table the Tsuchikage and the Raikage were working on prevented most of them from being here for this battle.

Still they had a number of significant names. And they had their summons. Atratus the Dark Vulture would be appearing in the skies again for Iwa. Maru had been lost but his children were able combatants even if they lacked his sheer power. And of course they had Han. The dangerous jinchuuriki was Iwa's chief weapon and it was comforting to Kitsuchi that he was there with them.

Rounding out their force they had hired some mercenaries. A missing nin from the defunct Sound Village had brought a score of other missing nin from a variety of villages under their banner. Kidomaru was a strange and disturbing individual but he had experience fighting Konoha shinobi that could prove valuable.

The army moved at a steady if not hurried pace. The goal after all was to draw the Konoha forces away from Hi no Kuni to allow Kumo's invasion to be a success. The real enemy was the leaf not Takigakure so they didn't need to rush. Kitsuchi had done all he could to make sure his army would survive the inevitable Konoha response; he hoped it would be enough.

**AN: **I really enjoy looking into everyone's perspectives and plans. I'm not sure why but I find it really interesting. I know there have been several chapters without much 'real' conflict. Sparks are going to fly soon though!

As always please review – it really does motivate me.


	41. Chapter 40: Dawn of Battle

**AN: **Thank you for the reviews!

**Chapter 40:** Dawn of Battle

The Konoha army had sent word ahead of them and Takigakure met them in the forested area around their village. Shibuki the village leader spoke with Kakashi along with two jonin from the village and Fu the jinchuuriki of the seven tailed bijuu.

Shibuki bowed deeply, "You have my thanks for answering our call for aid."

Kakashi inclined his head and replied, "Hokage-sama believes in our alliances. We will gladly help defeat the Iwa invaders."

Introductions were made. Shikamaru, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were introduced and then the two jonin and Fu were as well. Naruto looked toward Fu and smiled, "Good to meet another jinchuuriki that isn't crazy with bloodlust." Naruto paused for a moment, "You aren't actually crazy are you?"

Fu looked at Naruto oddly. She had not met any of the other jinchuuriki. The young man in front of her was taller than her and was proudly wearing a white haori that proclaimed him the son of the Yondaime Hokage.

Fu smiled and said, "No I'm not crazy. The village doesn't like me but I leave them alone and they leave me alone so it could be worse."

Naruto frowned, "Ouch that much get lonely."

Fu forced herself not to tremble and shrugged it off, "My home is beautiful, I can live with it."

"You shouldn't have to," Naruto insisted.

Fu didn't say anything and Shibuki interjected into their discussion. "Namikaze-san is correct. You shouldn't have to. After today hopefully the village will see that jinchuuriki are human just like they are."

Polite introductions and small talk was complete. It was time to plan the battle. Iwa had not communicated anything except a rehash of their demands for unconditional surrender. Iwa's forces were several hours away so they had time.

Kakashi was forceful with his plan.

"Iwa will expect you to fight a defensive battle and so they will have planned for it. Instead we should confront them and try to fight in open terrain. We can march forward two hours and do battle in a sparsely forested area."

One of Shibuki's jonin advisors scoffed at the plan.

"This is foolish, even with your help we are outnumbered. We must fight a war of attrition. We have already begun laying traps throughout the area. We will make Iwa bleed to get to our village."

Kakashi listened to the man's arguments and then explained his decision. "At a basic level that would be a good strategy however there are a number of reasons why we will do things my way. We have specially made seals that will cause tremendous damage in a wide area however their efficacy would be diminished if there are natural barriers like trees in the way."

Kakashi continued, "Naruto has a wide area jutsu that will also be effective. Within the trees it will be a series of small battles and there will not be as many shinobi in one area. By being further away from the village it will be less likely that we will lose track of some of their shinobi. Iwa nin are masters at Doton they could scatter in many directions and it will be difficult to pin down a dispersed force. Within my army I have Hyuga whose sole role in the battle will be to monitor underground movement. Again a dispersed battle field is to our disadvantage."

"We are still outnumbered and…" the jonin advisor began and Kakashi ruthlessly cut him off.

"How many battles have you fought in? How many wars did you help end? Pardon my directness but I know what I am doing and this isn't up for negotiation. If you want our help you will follow my battle plan and we will win."

Shibuki saw his advisor grow angry and cut into the conversation. "Our apologies Kakashi we will of course follow your plan. How should our forces be arrayed against them?"

They began to discuss the particulars. The majority of the Konoha shinobi would be arrayed on the left flank. The Takigakure shinobi would be deployed on the right flank. The center would be held by team seven and clones. Clones would also be disbursed among both groups and half of the Hyuga would also assist Shibuki's force. Fu would fight with beside her village's shinobi.

Their battle plans made, they quickly marched out to confront the thousand strong Iwa force. There were 204 shinobi from Konoha and 163 shinobi from Takigakure. Despite being outnumbered nearly three to one team seven was confident in their chances for victory.

*****BREAK*****

The Raikage was a man of action and therefore was in the forefront of the attack on Hi no Kuni. He personally led the first attack at the border garrisons. The two squads of chunin that were stationed there very nearly failed to send off the signal that they were under attack. The chunin barely had time to react as the Raikage charged forward surrounded by his **Raiton no Yoroi** (Lighting Release Armor). His first strike smashed a chunin in the chest, instantly turning his body to pulp. In less than half a second he had killed another two Konoha shinobi.

One of remaining leaf shinobi burned the tag that would alert the village that the Land of Fire had been invaded. One kunoichi tossed a handle of kunai at the leader of Kumo whose retaliatory punch crashed into her face with such force that it snapped her neck.

The last chunin activated one of the new seals that Sakura had created. Buried seals around the fort activated in response and a barrier fuinjutsu surrounded the structure. The Raikage wasn't a fool he knew that the fuinjutsu was a trap to destroy would be attackers. He immediately put on a burst of speed and smashed into the pale blue barrier with all of his strength.

Incredibly the power behind the blow was not enough to destroy the barrier. It shivered as chakra was pulled toward the area of the attack in order to maintain the trap. Green gas inundated the area coming from the ground. In under a second the Raikage lashed out at the barrier with a dozen blows enhanced by his Lightning Armor. The barrier fuinjutsu could not hold up under the assault. He burst free before the poisonous gas could pose a threat.

C rushed up next to the Raikage and made sure nothing had been inhaled. C was skilled at medical ninjutsu and after careful observation he said, "That is a nasty combination of sulfuric gas that could corrode a breathing mask in seconds. It was mixed in with a nerve gas. If you had remained in there for much longer even you may not have survived."

The Raikage growled, "Jiraiya talks about peace and makes chemical weapons. The mask is gone now and we will not let him succeed."

All along the border garrisons were hit. It didn't matter whether they were guarded by Konoha shinobi or the Daimyo's soldiers. It was a lighting assault that struck down dozens of shinobi and scores of soldiers. The first step was a success, not that there had been any doubt. The Raikage and the Lighting Daimyo had mustered a massive invasion force and had moved it into position at startling speed.

Kumo had left behind most of the administrative shinobi, a large amount of the genin and a sufficient force to guard the village itself. They had brought with them 7,000 shinobi. The bulk of the shinobi were part of the primary attack group headed for Konoha herself. They numbered roughly 5,000. Five hundred shinobi were tasked with purely scouting. 1500 shinobi and 4,000 of the Lighting Daimyo's shoulders were heading for the capital of Hi no Kuni. With the numbers being even the idea was that Konoha would also split their forces.

If they did so the secondary group under the command of Samui would withdraw and avoid direct conflict. The third attack group consisted of a collection of 500 shinobi from **Moyagakure** (Village Hidden in the Haze) and **Shimogakure** (Village Hidden in Frost). They were backed by 5,000 soldiers of the Lighting Daimyo. Their task was to strike at the major towns and villages of Hi no Kuni. If the attack on Konoha was less than completely successful this would start the process of crippling the Land of Fire's economy.

The Raikage felt vindicated by his actions since the end of the third shinobi war. Unlike all of the other villages he redoubled his efforts to train shinobi and increase Kumo's military might. His militaristic action meant that he outnumbered Konoha significantly.

While he was proud of his efforts he knew large numbers didn't make his army invincible. Konoha specialized in Katon attacks that could devastate whole squads. There were several names that also kept his hubris in check. Tsunade Senju considered widely to be the most powerful kunoichi in the Elemental Nations despite the rise of Mei to Mizukage. Jiraiya their Hokage's name needed no explanation. Kakashi, an S class nin who had mastered over a thousand jutsu. Hailed as a genius and trained personally by the Yondaime Hokage.

The infamous Ino-Shika-Cho squad. None of them were S class but they had taken down S class opponents together. Danzo Shimura was an enigma however if not for Hiruzen he would have been the Sandaime Hokage. Had age brought low his Kage level power? The Raikage wouldn't count on it; he was one to be treated with utmost caution.

Gai Maito, Konoha's Noble Green Beast was someone the Raikage would have liked to spar with without his Lighting Armor. It would have been interesting to see who the greatest taijutsu master in the world was. If they did meet he would use his Lighting Armor and Gai would his Hachimon. The Raikage was confident he would win unless Gai opened up the Gate of Death. In that case all bets would be off.

The Tsuchikage had not participated in the attack on the border defenses. The old man wanted to keep his attendance a surprise until they were upon the gates of Konoha. The Raikage was still a bit surprised at Onoki's decision. It all came down to hate in the end, Onoki wanted to see Konoha burn and he couldn't do that if he was with the army from Iwa.

*****BREAK*****

Gai raced from the response team's base of operations back into Konoha proper and to the Hokage tower. Distress seals had been trigged throughout Hi no Kuni. They were being invaded and Jiraiya need to do know right away.

It didn't take long for him to reach the Hokage who reacted with a curse. Jiraiya gave orders swiftly and word was being sent to every major gathering and garrison of leaf shinobi. Jiraiya also ordered a dozen scout squads out from the village to begin gathering information on the forces attacking them.

Jiraiya again summoned the village council; it was the 2nd emergency meeting in 72 hours. Jiraiya didn't waste time. He ordered Inoichi to work with the rest of the Yamanaka to make contact telepathically with the scouts that had just went been sent out as well as any available forces throughout Hi no Kuni.

"The first thing we need is solid information on the enemy numbers and where they are going to be striking."

Hiashi murmured, "Such a large attack will probably mean they are coming for Konoha, assuming we had sent much of our shinobi to help our ally."

In reality Konoha had sent only a fraction of its strength to help Takigakure in terms of raw numbers. Shinobi force size was always a rather imprecise number. Half of the shinobi were not actually designed to fight. They were the genin, the administrators, the retired, the hospital staff, the theorists and those that used their chakra to help with civilian work. Of the half that were chunin or higher that actually regularly saw combat also did all of the missions that could end in violence. This meant they were dispersed out all across Hi no Kuni and beyond.

Jiraiya had thousands of shinobi to call upon that were in the village right now however most of them were not significant combat threats. All of them had gone through the Academy and would be superior to a civilian soldier but that didn't mean their utility was high.

The 200 shinobi he had sent to combat Iwa's aggression was only a small fraction of the total shinobi force in Konoha but it was a much more significant fraction of their combat worthy shinobi. However the real loss was felt in the absence of Kakashi and his team. Jiraiya was tempted to recall them but he refused to allow an ally to fall. The only way his dream of peace could come to fruition was if allies actually trusted each other. A common defense that would deter aggression was his goal.

This proved to be a contentious decision. Hiashi, Danzo, Choza and Hana's temporary Inuzuka stand in wanted team seven's immediate return. Hiashi spoke, "Team seven has proved themselves. I would be honored to fight by their side. They are two days away and if the enemy is heading for Konoha they will arrive in two days. They can arrive just in time and with the strength of our heavy combat team Konoha and all of the villagers will be safe. You want to risk that for Takigakure's sake?" All the elitist contempt Hiashi could muster lingered on the village named Takigakure.

Danzo, glad to have an ally for once stepped in, "The village is more important than an alliance with Takigakure. Consider the number of lives that would be lost if we failed to defeat our invader. Takigakure is fraction of our size."

Jiraiya was firm, "We will defend the village with what we have available. I have faith in the shinobi of this village and you should too. I will advise Kakashi to be quick about it but there will be more no more discussion. I value your input but decisions must be made now."

A steady stream of data began to be collected in the room as Inoichi made contact with shinobi on patrol and those in towns and villages near the border. Shikaku had placed a massive map of Hi no Kuni in the council chambers that was being updated as frequently as possible. The greatest minds of the leaf watched as markers indicated the number of invaders were moved and calculated. Soon they were able to tell that Hi no Kuni had been invaded by Kumo as well as by MoyagakureandShimogakure.

The Hokage ordered messages sent to Suna. "I want to believe Baki is still our friend but I won't risk another village's shinobi on our soil. It is clear Iwa is working with Kumo. Send word that we ask them to honor our alliance by keeping Iwa busy. We'll handle what was sent at Takigakure but after that it's Suna's fight. Send word to Kusagakure and see if they will honor our alliance as well and have them work with Suna."

As the map updated they could clearly see three large formations with different targets in mind. One was clearly headed for Konoha and another for the capital of Hi no Kuni, the seat of power of the Fire Daimyo. The third formation was headed for one of the more prosperous trading towns. Based on the geography of Hi no Kuni it would be virtually impossible to intercept the force heading for the trading town however it would be very easy to send aid to the feudal lord.

When Jiraiya brought this up Danzo said, "The Daimyo has his twelve guardians as well as his soldiers. We need to defend the village before all other considerations."

Shikaku took on a thinking pose, "Kumo is assuming we will send aid. Allowing the capital to fall would be disastrous to our economy and standing but letting Kumo dictate our strategy is also a problem."

The toad sage didn't see much choice in the matter. As Hokage he was responsible for the defense of Hi no Kuni as well as Konoha. The Fire Daimyo would have to be defended. He said as much to the council and some sided with Danzo. Jiraiya overruled those concerns and forcefully stated, "This is my decision. We will help defend the capital and drive back the attackers here. In both cases we will have a home ground advantage."

Danzo respected Jiraiya's power and the moves he had made since becoming Hokage. Now however things teetered on the precipice of ruin. It would be dangerous to use Kotoamatsukami with Shikaku in the area. The man's intellect would discern a change had come over the Hokage. Once Kotoamatsukami was detected it was simply a matter of willpower to break the suggestion, the key to success was never allowing the victim to be aware that their thoughts were being influenced.

Danzo did not know the Raikage's assessment of him but the Raikage's assessment was correct. Danzo was a Kage level fighter. However much of his strength could not be used in the open without dire ramifications for his position in Konoha. His choice became clear.

"Hokage-sama you rule Konohagakure and it is your choice. If I cannot dissuade you allow me to take ROOT and only ROOT with me to defend the capital. The integration of ROOT into the rest of the village has not been as successful as you hoped and they will regain all of their operational effectiveness if you allow me to take them all with me."

Jiraiya was instantly suspicious. "There are only about 40 ROOT operatives in the village. What could you hope to accomplish with just your personal army? Why do you not want others with you?"

Danzo responded calmly, "I intend to use kinjutsu to be victorious. Other shinobi may not understand or would get in the way."

"What kinjutsu?" Jiraiya growled.

Danzo raised a hand in a placating manner. "It will not be the Edo Tensei since I do not know that jutsu. I will tell you no more. Ask your advisor if splitting our forces down the middle will likely lead to a victory here in Konoha. Do this and you have a much better chance of defending the village. I swear to you now that I will die before the Fire Daimyo falls and let all the clan leaders here me. If I fail you may have my life Hokage-sama."

Jiraiya glanced at Shikaku who was furiously thinking about all of the different variables regarding the invasion and Danzo's possible motivations. Finally he said, "Jiraiya based on the numbers facing the village and working under the assumption most of them are shinobi we need as many of our own shinobi we can get here in the village. If Danzo believes he can turn back the attack on the capital with just ROOT and is willing to stake his life on it than my advice is that we let him."

Jiraiya was unhappy but reluctantly agreed to it. "Very well Danzo. If you are playing a game know that there is no where you can run that I won't be able to find you. Kakashi will also know all that transpired here."

Danzo bowed his head and turned and left. He truthfully intended to stop the invasion. He had a plan in mind. Much depended on who the commander of the Kumo force was. Summoning his operatives was a simple matter. Despite the integration efforts all of ROOT's loyalty was firmly with Danzo. They quickly set off for the capital. At a moderate speed they would arrive in more than enough time.

Back at the council chamber which had been tuned into their strategy room Jiraiya continued putting the defense of Konoha together.

"Bring Anko and Iruka here," the Hokage ordered.

Soon the two arrived. The Hokage swiftly informed them of the invasion size and their route. "I want the both of you to lead half a dozen ANBU squads and slow the invaders down. Use traps, hit and run attacks and whatever other devious ways you can think of to hurt the invaders. You know the land better than they do but be careful. This is an S rank mission but this is not a suicide mission. I want both of you alive and back here when the attack on Konoha begins.

Anko let a feral grin slip onto her face. "This should be fun Hokage-sama." Iruka looked far more nervous than Anko but he had come a long way thanks to the extra training he had been convinced to take on. The Hokage wished them luck and turned back to the map of Hi no Kuni to see what updates had been made.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto looked out at the battle field. He had created 50 clones for the battle and two additional clones that were gathering nature chakra. Currently the real him was also gathering nature charka; he intended to start the fight in sage mode and do as much damage as possible before it faded. From there he would fight normally until he came across a dangerous foe and pop one of the clones to transform into sage mode again.

Sakura was confident and ready for the fight however she was a bit queasy about her newest seals. What was about to happen would probably change how warfare was conducted in the Elemental Nations. Half of her wanted her seals to be a complete success so that her and her allies would win easily with minimum casualties for her village and friends. The other half wanted them to fail because of what it would herald in the wars of the future.

Sasuke was just ready. He longed for battle and a chance to bring glory to the name Uchiha. The long months training with little action had made him antsy. He looked over at his comrades and gave them a grin. There were very few individuals who he wanted to fight besides but those three were definitely worthy.

Kakashi looked across the battlefield and readied himself for the slaughter. Team seven had grown significantly since their first battle with Iwa. Sakura in particular was about to unleash hell with her seals. When the battle was almost ready to begin he heard Inoichi's voice inside his head.

"Kakashi, Hi no Kuni is under attack from Kumo. The Hokage wants you to complete your task there and then return home. Do not overly endanger your forces or Takigakure but press for a quick resolution sooner than later."

Kakashi mentally responded, "How bad is it?"

There was a pause and Inoichi replied, "It's bad but I have dozens more messages to send."

"Understood, I'll let Shikamaru and my team know."

Kakashi relayed the information. They kept the information away from the rest of their shinobi. It would not be good for morale for their ninja to be worried about home in the middle of the fight.

Focusing back on the looming battle he saw Iwa was almost in range. He signaled Naruto who summoned Gamaken. At this distance it was now obvious to Iwa that either Jiraiya himself or Naruto was in the battle.

Kakashi saw Iwa respond by summoning Atratus the Dark Vulture and several massive bears. Gamaken rumbled, "I may be clumsy but I'll do my best."

Iwa continued to advance and Kakashi again signaled Naruto. The clones led the charge with both flanks trailing slowly behind them. Naruto was at the head of his clone army. Predictably Iwa unleashed a wave of Doton jutsu and projectiles at Naruto and the clones. Naruto blasted the projectiles aside with contemptuous ease using his Futon jutsus. In sage mode his ninjutsu was more powerful and he could mold the chakra and hand seals faster.

The clones focused on dodging the earthen dragons, rivers of mud and spikes that attempted to dissipate them. Now they were in range and they opened the modified kunai scrolls. In the face a swarm of projectiles the obvious response was to use **Doton: Doryuheki** (Earth Release: Mud Wall). Predicting this in advance of the specially made kunai scrolls Naruto unleashed a massively over powered **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). The nature enhanced over chakra infused ninjutsu smashed the walls down allowing the swarm of 40 kunai per scroll to fly into the ranks of the Iwa shinobi.

But that's not where it ended. Every single one of those kunai had been etched with kanji that was used in storage seals. Those kunai exploded with a variety of effects. Some had shrapnel, others had more kunai with explosive tags and still others had combustible gas that was further triggered by the explosive tag variety.

Fuinjutsu seals were also on some of the kunai that had been expelled from the original kunai. This further provoked a chain reaction that turned the heart of the Iwa formation into a mass of shrapnel, corrosive gas, kunai and explosive tags with yields ten times greater than the standard. And even at that point it wasn't done as kunai and shrapnel that came from the second set of fuinjutsu sealed kunai _also_ had even more fuinjutsu seals on them. The amount of metal, chakra paper, ink and gas that had been used had cost more than a few S class ranked missions. However their effect was awe inducing.

Any shinobi without a kekkei genkai, the foresight to tunnel underground to escape or were at the edges of the chain reaction of explosions, gas and kunai were dead. Takigakure and Konoha forces began to advance in earnest. Cohesion among Iwa was severely undermined as 200 shinobi had just been annihilated.

*****BREAK*****

Kitsuchi's first reaction after surviving the onslaught was relief that he had ordered his daughter to the rear of their formation overseeing the medical nin and genin corps. His second thought was horror at the devastation that had been wrought among his friends and allies. His third thought was that he had to do something before the battle turned into even a larger massacre.

He took a quick stock of the battlefield and saw the bears had been shredded by the attack. Han was still standing of course as were several of the smarter shinobi who had used their Doton jutsu to move underground. The flanks were staring at the devastation and were ill prepared for the main force of Takigakure and Konoha shinobi bearing down on them. He roared out orders and through sheer force of will demanded they ignore the death around them and fight. They still outnumbered the enemy the battle was not lost!

He had little time to continue rallying his men when Naruto Namikaze slammed into him. His hasty **Doton: Kengan no Jutsu** (Earth Release: Fist Rock Technique) coated his arm and would normally have blocked the blow easily. However Naruto was different and far stronger than he had been previously. The rock shattered beneath Naruto's attack and Kitsuchi was thrown backwards.

Naruto didn't give him more than half a second to get his bearings from the sudden attack. He was on him in an instant and only a desperate Kawarimi saved him from the earth shattering blow. Somehow Namikaze knew exactly where he had subsisted to and sent a Futon charged kunai directly at him. Kitsuchi couldn't completely dodge in time and the kunai sliced into the upper part of his shoulder painfully. The wound wasn't significant but it would bleed.

Han came to his aid, seam billowing around him. Naruto clashed with the other jinchuuriki and the indomitable Han was shockingly driven back. More Iwa shinobi entered into the fray and Naruto had to deal with them. Kitsuchi used the time to create a pair of mud clones. With growing horror he watched the son of the Yellow Flash draw his katana and massacre the Iwa jonin and chunin who had come to his aid. He couldn't detect a whiff of demonic chakra but the boy was moving with blinding speed and power.

Han may have been driven back but he was far from defeated. However the rest of the team seven had now arrived. Kakashi's Chidori neatly killed one of his clones. The other clone put up a mud wall to block a stream of shuriken that Sasuke had rained down with vicious power.

Kitsuchi couldn't even spare a glance at the larger battlefield as the most deadly team in Konoha brought the battle to him.

*****BREAK*****

Kurotsuchi saw what had happened to the front of their formation. She had never known why all of Iwa had hated the Yellow Flash so much but now she had an idea. How many lives had been snuffed out in an instant? Was that what the previous war had been like? Dozens of comrades dead in an instant without any defense?

She knew her father was in the heart of those explosions. She knew he was tough but she had to make sure. She ran off toward the carnage. Akatsuchi called out, "Wait Kurotsuchi your father ordered you stay and guard the medical nin."

"Don't try to stop me I'm going to make sure he's OK." Akatsuchi knew trying to argue with the Tsuchikage's granddaughter was a losing proposition and so quickly hurried after her. Onoki would never forgive him if he let his granddaughter die.

*****BREAK*****

Itachi and Kisame watched the battle. Once it had become clear that Naruto was among the Konoha shinobi Itachi knew he had to act. He didn't have much time left and he had to have his confrontation with his brother soon.

He turned to Kisame and said, "Can you handle the Nanabi on your own?"

Kisame grinned displaying his shark like teeth, "Of course."

"I'll keep the rest of Konoha busy. I'm sure my brother will go after me when he knows I'm here. If he does stay out of the fight."

Kisame gave him a level look. Itachi was playing a game that didn't serve the Akatsuki's interests. He wasn't stupid but he was loyal to his partner. He would let him play his games. He enjoyed their partnership and if he wanted to fight his little brother that was fine by him.

Kisame put on a burst of speed and headed for where the Takigakure nin were taking the fight to Iwa.

Itachi suspected Sasuke would be in the thick of things but he needed to draw him away from the heart of the battle. He disliked harming leaf shinobi, especially in the midst of a major battle but what he had to impart to Sasuke was too important. Carefully guarding his chakra signature and presence under a Genjutsu he stalked toward the Konoha lines.

**AN: **I hope no one minds a bit of a cliff hanger. One of the reviewers had asked not to have another lengthy battle scene – I do have some bad news in that regard. There will be A LOT of fighting however I am going to try to space them out in between reaction scenes and planning done back in Konoha or with some of the other characters. That way it's not a wall of fight text – as the next few chapters come out let me know if you like this approach better or if you prefer to just have a couple of chapters of solid fighting so there are less cliff hangers.

Also I've started a new story called "Nine Tailed Possession" it's a bit darker than this story however if you don't mind M rated stories please take a look and let me know what you think. NOTE – I'm not going to devote a lot of time to that story while I'm working on this one so updates won't occur as frequently as with Genius Sensei.


	42. Chapter 41: Cry Havoc!

**AN: **Thank you for the reviews – as always let me know what you think of the latest chapter.

**Chapter 41:** Cry Havoc!

Naruto felt nearly invincible in sage mode. He had butchered the enemy jonin and chunin that had come to Kitsuchi's defense with laughable ease. Speed was his main advantage but wielding a blade, now finally with the skills of a real swordsman, that could cut through steal and rock in a blink of an eye was an absurd advantage. His slashes ripped through opponents regardless of the Doton jutsu they tried to use to shield themselves.

Being in tune with nature also allowed him to sense any opponents using **Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu** (Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu) to try to come up from under the ground. One poor chunin learned that the hard way as he was skewered even before he finished rising up from the ground.

The real threats in the area were Han and Kitsuchi. Gamaken had lumbered forward and was now engaging some of the other Iwa shinobi who were attempting to rally around their leader. A massive toad in the middle of a battle field without an opposed summon was deadly difficult to overcome.

Kakashi had annihilated the second mud clone and stalked after Kitsuchi. Kitsuchi was a wily opponent who used a barrage of Doton jutsu in rapid succession forcing Kakashi to use Kawarimi to avoid the techniques. It was a losing proposition in the long run however since Kawarimi took little chakra while a **Doton: Dosekiryu** (Earth Style: Earth Dragon) took a considerable amount even with his affinity for Doton jutsu.

Sasuke and Sakura worked in deadly tandem. Her Genjutsu were hard to detect and they seemed to instinctually know who each other were targeting. A simple Genjutsu to mask a shuriken killed just as quickly as a Raikiri after all. Not that Sasuke stinted on jutsu. His new favorite was an even longer extension to **Chidori** **Eiso** (Chidori Spear). At 80 feet in length he could sweep the modified lighting blade across the battle field at terrifying speed cutting enemies in two that didn't react with jonin level speed. And again Sakura helped cloud the senses of opponents with her Genjutsu so they didn't even sense the deadly Raiton before it cut them in half.

After dealing with the first wave of jonin and chunin Naruto faced off with Han used sage mode to gain the upper hand. The steam armor was stubborn and even his Futon blade couldn't pierce through it. However Han was being battered around from the Senjutsu enhanced blows. Demonic chakra began to leak and he quickly transformed into Version 2. Dark red and black chakra coated him and Naruto knew the fight had just been ratcheted up a notch.

Naruto dodged a strike and responded with a bisecting cut that slammed into the rival jinchuuriki. The blow again knocked Han back but failed to pierce the thick chakra cloak. Kakashi had said that in this form a jinchuuriki was nearly invincible until their chakra was exhausted. At this point in the battle the five minutes of sage mode was nearing an end. Kakashi signaled Naruto to begin the second phase of the destruction of the Iwa invasion force.

Naruto dropped out of sage mode and instantly spammed forty clones to keep Han busy. The rest of the battlefield had not been idle. The army under Shikamaru had charged toward the flummoxed Iwa force but instead of wading into close combat they had unleash Katon jutsu and ranged attacks. Naruto had left a couple of clones behind to use Futon jutsu to enhance the Katon ninjutsu used.

The flames and kunai as well as general confusion from the vicious attack at the center of their lines caused them to back away from Shikamaru's forces. Which was exactly what Naruto had wanted and Kakashi had planned for. He embraced the Kyubi chakra briefly and used the shunshin to get into position. There he began the lengthy series of hand seals needed. Ominous chakra filled the air. With vicious precision Naruto made sure Atratus the damned Genjutsu using vulture would also be caught in the attack.

Naruto let out a great shout and finished his jutsu, **"Futon: Sora Tonkachi"** (Wind Release: Sky Hammer). The air pressure slammed into Atratus instantly pulping his body. In less than a second later it smashed into the center of the Iwa contingent facing off against the Konoha contingent. Those caught at the center of it died instantly from the pressure. Those at the edges were thrown off their feet in all directions killing some and severely wounding others.

Naruto had used this jutsu to help the Konoha side of the battlefield not out of some desire to favor them over their ally's forces but because he knew he could count on Shikamaru and the leaf shinobi to act appropriately. None of the Konoha shinobi had broken formation and so none were injured from the attack. In addition Shikamaru had been waiting for that precise moment and had quickly ordered an all out charge after the Sky Hammer had struck. With the Iwa army being even further disoriented, deafened and demoralized they slaughtered the Iwa shinobi with disturbing ease.

While the attack with normally draining he had used the Kyubi chakra and so his own chakra reserves were actually still considerable. He created an additional 40 clones to help Shikamaru's forces and then returned back to his fight with Han. Han had ripped apart his clones and Sasuke had to help keep him contained. Sasuke had tried multiple versions of the Chidori but none could pierce the heavy chakra cloak that surrounded Han.

Naruto popped one of his extra senjutsu gathering clones and returned to the fight with a vengeance.

*****BREAK*****

Hana Inuzuka had waited patiently for her role in the upcoming battle. She was a medical nin but also a jonin level taijutsu fighter. As soon as the Sky Hammer had crashed into the Iwa lines it was her time to shine. She raced forward with her dogs and ripped into the Iwa lines. Her ferocity would have made her mother proud.

Her blood was up and she put down wounded Iwa nin with no mercy. Iwagakure was the aggressor, they had broken the peace. When an animal went rabid and couldn't be cured the only merciful thing was to put it down and Iwa had gone rabid. Did they really think that Konoha would allow them to strike at their allies?

Hana was sick of war and battle. But that just made her resolve greater as she decimated her enemy. In her area it was more a slaughter than a battle as she led the charge. Some Iwa shinobi were trying to rally and she attacked those strong points. Again and again she used the Inuzuka clan jutsus making sure the wounded Iwa army on this flank of the battle would not be able to coordinate at all.

*****BREAK*****

Jouichirou Suzumori found himself on the flank that was fighting with the Takigakure shinobi. The proud son of Juro was eager to make up for the shame his father had brought on their clan. Regardless of the circumstances of the trap Konoha had laid for them, the bottom line was that Juro had returned without the hated Namikaze's head. He would make up for that shame by personally capturing the Waterfall's jinchuuriki.

However there were setbacks. First was the vicious string of explosions and shrapnel that had cut through their central lines. That had shaken the shinobi under him. He had to force them to focus on the enemy in front of them and not worry about their dead comrades.

The shinobi from Takigakure weren't anything special. They had a mixture of Katon and Doton users but most of their rank and file were middling shinobi at best.

Jouichirou had a bodyguard of 3 jonin with him at all times which allowed him to cut through their ranks like a hot knife through butter. That was until they encountered the seven tailed beast. Their opponent looked human expect for the oddly translucent wings that allowed her to avoid the vast majority of their Doton attacks with ease. She blinded them and cut Iwa shinobi down with agile swipes of her kunai.

Ittan, one of the bodyguards his father had procured for him nearly lost his life but Jouichirou had been able to use the ground beneath his feat to pull him down to avoid the vicious slash. The Suzumori heir was driven back himself by a stream of fire that he had to hastily guard against with **Doton: Doryuheki** (Earth Release: Mud Wall). Snarling in frustration he realized that the battle wasn't going his way. He had been able to cut through the trash with his jonin guards but the rest of his forces were bogged down fighting in close quarters.

Things were looking grim when the Takigakure lines began to break. Using his kekkei genkai he sensed what was causing it. A large man, obviously highly dangerous had ripped through a dozen Waterfall shinobi. The weight and footsteps didn't match anyone from Iwa and so Jouichirou couldn't help but wonder who was assisting them.

The man burst through another 3 enemy shinobi as he came into view. Kisame Hoshigaki was immediately recognizable. There weren't many missing nin as infamous as he was.

'Does Kisame have a grudge with Takigakure?'

He was confused but grateful for the reprieve. Fu raced off to face the new threat and then the battle field around Kisame became entirely enveloped in water. Jouichirou was caught at the edges of the watery sphere and quickly swam out of it. He wasn't about to enter into the watery sphere where his Doton jutsu would be limited. Instead he and the rest of his guards began striking out at the now disheartened Takigakure shinobi.

A distant shockwave told them that the real threat facing them wasn't going to be from Takigakure but form the damned leaf village.

*****BREAK*****

Shikaku was being pulled in multiple directions. He had to keep an eye on the updates the Yamanaka clan was feeding the map in case the situation on the ground change. He also had to organize the defense of Konoha. Everyone would need to fight, potentially even the genin and those who normally weren't combat shinobi.

They had a large amount of extra first generation kunai scrolls that Sakura had created. Shikaku would provide those to the genin to give them a decent weapon. While most chunin could survive one of those scrolls it wasn't a sure thing and it certainly was a massive distraction in the middle of a fight.

Shikaku also had to reconfigure squads and make sure everyone was positioned in the best place possible. Tsunade for example would not be tasked with healing since she needed to be on the front lines. Gai's team had been trained to hunt down the S class criminal Kisame and so putting them up against one of Kumo's S class ranked shinobi would be a good choice.

Little thing were important, like making sure the Sarutobi clan and other Katon specialists were not close to the Aburame fights. Making sure the Hyuga clan was evenly dispersed to watch for infiltrators. The new defensive seals on the village itself had to be taken into consideration as well as the number and type of traps that would be set. Simply because they approached the village from one direction didn't mean they couldn't circle around to hit the other side or simultaneously attack all sides.

Shikaku was awash with information as he worked with Jiraiya to put the best possible defense plan in place. Amidst all of those concerns he couldn't help but worry about his son who was probably right now at that very moment fighting against the army from Iwagakure.

*****BREAK*****

The battle was going exceedingly well in Shikamaru's eyes. It was difficult to tell what was going on with team seven in the middle but demonic chakra was being felt. The earlier fears of the Tsuchikage and both Iwa jinchuuriki being on the battle field were unfounded. As long as team seven could deal with Han and whoever was leading the Iwa forces the battle was as good as won.

And then something unexpected happened. His keen senses saw a squad of Konoha shinobi collapse next to him. His instincts screamed for him to move and he quickly used a Kawarimi to substitute away from his location. A good thing he had as shuriken that he had not seen would have struck his legs if he had been a tenth of a second slower.

A Naruto clone was not so lucky and had dissipated. Ino, Choji, Rock Lee and the remaining Naruto clone turned to see Itachi Uchiha. Shikamaru's eyes had widened in utter shock. Of all the battle plans he had made this was one occurrence he hadn't foreseen.

'What the hell? Itachi freaking Uchiha is working with Iwa? No that doesn't make any sense.'

Shikamaru had no time to think as Itachi moved with sure strides that was almost hypnotic to watch. No scratch that it was hypnotic! Shikamaru snapped out of the Genjutsu and hurried over to Ino to snap her out of it too. Choji had also been caught and was there helpless to stop the kunai from perforating his stomach.

"NO! Choji!"

Shikamaru launched his shadows at Itachi who disappeared into a flock of crows. Shikamaru again moved on instinct and avoided being stabbed as well. He countered with his own kunai and in a fraction of a second he had parried two blows however the third would strike true if the Naruto clone hadn't slashed down at that moment. Itachi, with a frightening display of economy of motion, shifted slightly allowing the attack to pass by. Shuriken by the dozens flew at the clone at close range. The clone tried to use **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) but Itachi was too fast and the distance was short for him to get it off in time.

The clone dissipated and Shikamaru successful used Kagemane no Jutsu trapping the deadly S class shinobi. Ino threw a pair of kunai directly at Itachi's throat and chest. In disbelief Shikamaru saw the clone exploded into a flock of crows.

Itachi reappeared behind Ino and leveled a sharp blow to the back of her neck, either killing her or knocking her unconscious. Shikamaru had never felt this outclassed before. He flushed chakra to try to break a potential Genjutsu but reality was staring right in from him. Choji was bleeding out and Ino was down and may even be dead.

Rock Lee valiantly raced at Itachi attempting to stop the blow but he had been too late. Itachi easily side stepped him and then trapped him in a Genjutsu. Shikamaru called out for assistance as Rock Lee began striking at allied shinobi with reckless abandon. The Nara clan heir used his clan jutsu again to trap Lee and then pushed chakra into him forcefully destroying the Genjutsu.

In the time it took Shikamaru to do that Itachi had dropped a squad of leaf nin who had come to assist. Could nothing stop this monster? He was using barely a trickle of chakra with his attacks. Just Genjutsu and minor clones. He knew team seven was now aware of Itachi's presence he only hoped they would get here in time before the leaf forces under his commander were completely decimated.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto had been fighting Han again trying to wear down the more tenured demon container. In sage mode he was easily able to dance around the transformed jinchuuriki. However he had yet to deal a truly lethal blow on him. His companions were around him decimating the Iwa forces attempting to come to Kitsuchi's aid.

Naruto had just delivered a devastating kick to Han when the clone that was next to Shikamaru popped. Long practice made sure he didn't react to the surprising news, keeping his mind on the fight. The news however was something he had to share with Kakashi. He called out to his sensei, "Itachi just arrived on the battle field and attacked Shikamaru's command squad. He's going to tear them to pieces!"

Kakashi danced back from another powerful Doton jutsu Kitsuchi sent toward him. Kitsuchi would have long been dead now if it wasn't for the reinforcements that kept streaming in. They were killing them as they arrived so that fight was proceeding well but this news changed everything. Kakashi knew Itachi was probably one of the greatest shinobi the leaf had ever produced. He was a master at Genjutsu even without his Sharingan. His speed, taijutsu and all around competence in every ninja art made him an enemy Kakashi himself may not be able to defeat. That was the whole point of having two elite squads train to defeat him using numbers and pre planned tactics.

Kakashi weighed each of his team's abilities. None of them could face Itachi alone. Naruto was actually in the best shape to do it, with sage mode he didn't even have to open his eyes in order to sense where Itachi was. On the other hand he was running low on nature chakra and only had one clone full of it left. Sasuke had the Sharingan so could potentially resist some of the Sharingan tricks that Itachi could use.

Kakashi was tempted to go himself but he worried about Kitsuchi and Han together. Kitsuchi was a veteran of a lot of battles and had the experience edge on his team. He had Kitsuchi's number and there was little the man could do to present a challenge to Kakashi. That might not be the case for the others.

Ultimately Naruto and Sasuke were the best choices. Sakura could help him deal with the reinforcements with her Genjutsu and he would have to deal with Kitsuchi and Han. All of this was processed through his mind in less than two seconds.

He barked out orders, "Naruto, summon the rest of the battle toads here and then you and Sasuke deal with Itachi." Naruto shoved a nature infused Rasengan into Han's gut sending him flying back for the umpteenth time. He flashed through the hand seals and summoned Gamabunta. The majority of the sage chakra had run out and he used the last of it to sprint away from Gamabunta and summon Gamahiro. Naruto dropped out of sage mode and used purely his own chakra to summon another 40 clones to give Kakashi and Sakura some breathing room. Then he and Sasuke blazed through the battle field for Shikamaru's last known location.

Kakashi attempted to finish off Kitsuchi before dealing with Han but the wily Iwa commander subsisted with his own rock clone. Kunai with explosive tags trailing them were thrown by two Iwa chunin but Kakashi simply threw a pair of his own kunai neatly deflecting them away. While he was throwing he was also moving toward Han. Han roared in primal rage. It was somewhat miraculous that the jinchuuriki could still tell friend and foe in his current state.

Kakashi danced around the creature's blows. More Iwa shinobi entered the battle area and one sent out a particular dangerous **"Doton: Dosekiryu"** (Earth Style: Earth Dragon). Kakashi manipulated the fight with Han in a way that caused the Earth Dragon to smash into the five tailed host. The Naruto clones descended with a vengeance on the reinforcements cutting several down.

Sakura continued to use her Genjutsu to confuse her opponents. Like her work with Sasuke the Naruto clones seemed to instinctually know who she would befuddle. Their teamwork had been honed to such a fine point they could almost sense each other's thoughts. Sakura knew the battle was going to be much closer now that Naruto and Sasuke had left to pursue Itachi. She didn't dare spend a single moment worrying about them. The battle was chaotic in the extreme and one small misstep could be fatal.

As if her thoughts were prophecy she sensed chakra underneath her feet. An Iwa nin rose out of the ground thrusting his tanto at Sakura. Sakura was on a team of taijutsu powerhouses. She wasn't at their level in taijutsu, which was a fact. But she did spar with them every day and in those battles they had to work for their win. That meant that the Iwa nin who thought he was assassinating a Genjutsu specialist had the tables reversed quite suddenly.

Sakura blocked the attack pushing the blade off course and then immediately countered with her own kunai to the throat. The overconfident shinobi hadn't expected a counterattack and paid with it for his life. Sakura kicked the corpse away and then dodged a **Doton**: **Doryuso** (Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears) that erupted underneath her feet.

Before she could retaliate with Genjutsu, Gamahiro brought down his blades on the Doton user. Sakura turned and saw Gamabunta kick into another group of Iwa shinobi. Gamaken used his Sasumata on Han but the jinchuuriki was a bit too fast for the weapon to strike home. The great battle toads of Mount Myoboku were making their presence felt.

Kakashi created a pair of lighting clones to help distract Han and hopefully allow one of the toads to pin the seemingly invulnerable beast down. Meanwhile he tried again to finish Kitsuchi. A fresh group of Iwa reinforcements arrived and Kitsuchi's face betrayed a flash of fear.

Kakashi saw the arrival and immediately put the family resemblance together. Kitsuchi's daughter Kurotsuchi had just arrived. Konoha didn't know all the specifics but she was rumored to be a prodigy and had a kekkei genkai that could make her dangerous.

'But her father had a flash of concern and for a shinobi of his caliber to show his emotions that must mean he's terrified. He knows she's not ready for an opponent like me.'

Kakashi called out to Kitsuchi, "I see it's a family reunion. Is Onoki hiding under a rock too?"

Kakashi rarely spoke in battle but this time he had a very specific purpose. He wanted Kitsuchi to understand that he knew exactly who the young woman was. He tossed a pair of kunai at Kitsuchi and then put a burst of speed making a bee line for the man's daughter.

Kitsuchi shouted out, "No get back!"

Kitsuchi dashed forward using the shunshin. The shunshin was a fantastic supplementary ninjutsu that used chakra to push a shinobi forward. It was not a teleportation technique like Kawarimi and it certainly wasn't anything like the Hiraishin. Normally the shunshin operated fast enough that a shinobi wasn't really vulnerable as they moved with incredibly speed in a straight line but Kakashi had been waiting for this and his Sharingan had picked up the tell tale traces of chakra beginning to form the shunshin the instant it had started.

Kakashi pivoted sharply and slammed chakra into his feet slashing forward with a Raikiri that formed in an instant. Kakashi wasn't going after Kurotsuchi; his target all along had been Kitsuchi. In a moment of parental love he had left himself vulnerable and Kakashi ruthlessly exploited it with his personal lightning jutsu that slammed through his heart killing Kitsuchi instantly. The son of Onoki Tsuchikage of Iwagakure was dead.

*****BREAK*****

Anko and Iruka had hastily formed up with the 24 ANBU that were assigned to them. She divided them up into two groups. Team A would be with her and would work on the hit and run tactics while team B would begin setting up all manner of wonderful traps. The seals that Sakura had created made Anko just giddy about seeing them in action.

Even the seals that originally didn't function properly in Sakura's eyes were a boon to Anko. One example was a fuinjutsu seal that was supposed to store chakra for someone to use. Unfortunately no one had been able to figure out how to actually take in the chakra outside of the standard food pill process. Worse was that the seals slowly bled chakra over the course of a few days so it made stockpiling them impossible.

But Anko's devious mind had a use for them. Because they leaked chakra it would be sensed by Kumo scouts and sensors. So Anko had Iruka and other ANBU randomly attach the seals to some fixed locations like trees and rocks. They centered their traps around those locations as well. But in addition to that she also had them stick them to wild animals and birds who would roam around randomly bleeding chakra which would set off false signals to the Kumo invaders.

The traps that were being laid out varied quite a bit. Some were as simple as poisoned makibishi, pit traps, explosive tags that triggered based on pressure and of course modified smoke bombs with poisonous gas.

The traps were sometimes concealed naturally but other times they were covered with **Magen: Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu** (Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique). Anko liked to vary it. One of her more amusing traps was an obvious trap that was not concealed and had no Genjutsu. Many shinobi would wait and try to decipher what trick there was that they weren't seeing while all along there was nothing to it. Yes Anko loved her little psychological games which was why she made an excellent interrogator.

Yet another seal allowed her to place snakes in a form of stasis that would trigger by mere proximity. Anko placed several of her unintelligent snake summons in those scrolls. By themselves they wouldn't be too dangerous but the unexpected surprise might kill a few shinobi.

Anko was under no delusions that they could stop the advance with traps and guerilla tactics. But it did force the invaders to make a choice. Slow down and avoid the traps or take casualties. Instructions given to team B, she took team A forward at a swift pace. With the invaders now just shy of two days away they needed to travel for the greater part of the day to intercept. Then they would set up a number of traps and then start striking at the invaders. The plan would be to fade back into the trapped areas to discourage pursuit or to kill more cloud shinobi.

Anko looked at Iruka. She never would have thought that after Orochimaru that she would find love. His sensory abilities would be key to surviving this. She would do everything in her power to make sure he survived one way or another. She kept those thoughts to herself since if it came down to it the noble man would argue that he should be the one making sure she lived. Pushing those thoughts aside she hurried on so she could be in place for her first clash with Kumo.

*****BREAK*****

Kurotsuchi had disobeyed her father's orders in order to make sure her father was OK. Only to see him brutally killed with a lighting jutsu to his chest in an evident attempt to protect her from harm. Guilt and rage warred through her mind as she processed what had just occurred.

She reacted with white hot fury and immediately used **Yoton: Sekkaigyo no Jutsu **(Lava Release: Quicklime Jutsu) on Kakashi. Kakashi simply substituted out of the way of the attack with a piece of debris next to an Iwa chunin who he killed with a kunai to the throat before reengaging the Iwa jinchuuriki.

Kurotsuchi had tears running down her face. Revenge was the only thought that filled her mind. Akatsuchi grabbed her arm forcefully. "Stop right now!"

The normally jovial jonin of Iwagakure had put on a stern demeanor.

"Don't throw your life away against the copy cat nin. He killed your father what makes you think you'll survive the fight with him?"

Kurotsuchi glared at her protector, "I have to do something! It's my fault; he was trying to save me."

"Then do what he wanted you to do. Stay with the medical nin and genin. If the enemy attacks there they will need your protection."

Kurotsuchi almost decided to argue but she could not deny what her father's last wishes would have been. One day however she vowed she would get revenge on Sharingan no Kakashi. With a final hate filled glare she turned her back on her father's killer and went back to her post.

**AN: **In regards to Itachi he was not aiming to kill Choji or Ino. Both are still alive in Choji's case the wounds given to him are easily healed by a competent medical shinobi if they can get to him in the next couple of hours. Gut wounds can take awhile to kill you (or so I've read in other fantasy novels). So no Choji, Lee, Ino and Shikamaru are in no danger of dying _directly_ by Itachi's hand….


	43. Chapter 42: Uchiha

**AN: ** My apologies for the delay. I don't even have a good excuse! I won't promise anything since I didn't expect to take such a long break in the first place but I will try to get back into the swing of writing.

**Chapter 42:** Uchiha

Naruto and Sasuke arrived as fast as they could. Sasuke's Sharingan was whirling madly with anticipation. He was finally going to fight his brother. Sasuke had been longing for this fight ever since the massacre and it spurred him on to even greater speeds. Naruto was almost just as eager but for very different reasons. His friends were in danger and he needed to help them.

Itachi felt the two powerful chakra sources as they drew closer. Fallen leaf shinobi were all around him. He had taken pains not to kill them but he could not look as if he was showing mercy and so numerous broken bones and life threatening injuries were given to the leaf shinobi. If a medical nin could get to them in time they would be fine, Itachi hated leaving so much to chance but he had limited options.

Itachi left the leaf shinobi and dashed toward the chakra signatures. Sasuke saw him and swiftly launched a barrage of shuriken. At that range it was child's play to avoid them despite the incredible speed and power behind the throws. Itachi dodged to the side only to see Sasuke use a Kawarimi on the tiny object. It reminded him eerily of Shisui's mastery of the substitution technique. Though his friend was better known for his skill with the shunshin what many opponents never realized was that he used the two in conjunction to lethal effect. While it was swift the chakra spike was easy for Itachi to read and he responded with a Genjutsu to ensnare his brother.

Sakura was skilled at Genjutsu but she was no Itachi. That being said between practicing against Sakura and the built in natural advantage of having the Sharingan himself proved to be sufficient to repulse the foreign chakra attempting to manipulate his senses. Itachi widened his eyes slightly in surprise at Sasuke's skill even as he dodged Sasuke's Chidori Senbon.

Sasuke had not come alone and his comrade had created dozens of clones. Several lashed out with **Futon: Shinkugyoku** (Wind Release Vacuum Bullets) filling the air with tiny pellets of death. Itachi himself used the body substitution technique to get behind Sasuke. Itachi barely had time to block the powerful elbow strike to his head. Itachi was pushed back by the blow which prevented Sasuke's follow-up kick from striking.

Itachi's estimation of his brother's fighting abilities went up a notch but he did not let that show on his face. "Foolish little brother. I…" Itachi was not allowed to finish as Naruto clones dashed forward striking at him with drawn katanas. The Akatsuki member danced between the clones with apparent ease but in reality it was actually not quite so simple. The clones worked in conjunction with each other presenting near impossible to escape from attack combinations. Only Itachi's razor honed senses and abilities allowed him to avoid harm. His first sentence had not even been completed when Sasuke added in a barrage of his own shuriken to the mix completely missing all the Naruto clones but honing in unerringly on Itachi.

Itachi created a clone as a distraction and then took a deep breath as he struck out with **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique). Itachi's skill allowed the massive fireball to be larger, hotter and faster than normal. Itachi sensed Sasuke's chakra spike before a wave of water slammed into his jutsu nullifying it completely. Through the steam a pair of wind infused kunai sped toward him with impossible speed. Itachi managed to dodge both and saw the ninja wire attached to them. A split second later he saw a wave of air bullets also screaming toward him. With not enough time to even use the body substitution technique Itachi contorted his body to take the least amount of damage possible. He was mostly successful as only two bullets managed to graze his skin. The wounds would not hinder him but it was first blood.

Itachi realized he would not be able to have a leisurely conversation with Sasuke at all. The elder Uchiha brother beat a hasty retreat away from the battlefield. Naruto and Sasuke chased after like he had planned. After gaining a bit of breathing room Itachi went on the offensive. Two of his clones dashed forward beginning a swirling melee with the Naruto clones. The real Itachi used Genjutsu, while not as impactful if he had been able to make eye contact it was still enough to capture the clones in it. Their perception of the battlefield changed to Itachi's liking and soon they were more of a hindrance then a benefit.

Itachi let out a mocking laugh, "Send your 'friend' away Sasuke, you are embarrassing our lineage." Sasuke snarled but did not respond. The real Naruto closed his eyes and dissipated all of the clones in the area as well as the nature chakra filled one. It was Naruto's final clone filled with nature energy which meant he had only had five minutes of senjutsu to end the fight in. He kept his eyes closed and pounced with speed that not only matched Itachi Uchiha's but surpassed it.

Itachi's Sharingan allowed a form of precognition that prevented him from having his body be pummeled by the senjutsu infused Naruto. Itachi sensed that he could not even block a blow without his arm being shattered; such was the strength of Naruto's blows. Not only were they strong but they were also coming in at nearly blinding speed.

Itachi couldn't keep this up for long and an ache began to develop inside his chest. Instead of trying another frantic dodge he used one of his trump cards.

"Susanoo," Itachi intoned and red energy surrounded him forming a skeletal construct. The construct's bone blocked Naruto's punch. Uzumaki dashed backwards uncertain of this new jutsu. The Susanoo bone had actually be cracked by the blow and Itachi allowed more of his chakra to add flesh and armor over it.

Itachi called out to his brother, "This is the secret of our clan foolish brother! This is the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan!"

Naruto had a time limit on how long he could use nature chakra and didn't waste any time in charging back into the fray. This time he used a senjutsu up powered Rasengan and charged in. Sasuke added in Chidori Senbon however he did not expect it to be effective and he was not wrong. The armored Susanoo didn't have a scratch on it as they pelted it.

Naruto's Rasengan would have been far more dangerous but Itachi allowed the **Yata no Kami **(Yata Mirror) to take the blow. The shield negated any attack and even the power of Naruto's senjutsu Rasengan didn't make a dent in it. Immediately seeing the attack fail Naruto drew his katana and pushed wind natured chakra through it and sliced out at the shield. No effect.

Safely behind the Susanoo Itachi continued to speak, "I told you to find me when you had eyes like mine! Do you know why? I wanted your eyes little brother. Madara Uchiha stole the eyes from his little brother and it granted him even more power. What am I suppose to do with your weak eyes brother?"

Itachi needed Sasuke to understand the power of transplanted eyes. It would be a final gift to his brother.

Sasuke bit back a retort and instead flashed through the hand seals for **Chidori** **Eiso** (Chidori Spear). The spear slammed into the Itachi's Susanoo but failed to pierce through it. Sasuke snarled and threw out one of Sakura's specially designed kunai that acted as its own storage seal. The kunai struck Itachi's Susanoo and thousands of gallons of waters splashed out.

**"Raiton: Jibashi Daino!"** (Lightning Release: Massive Electromagnetic Murder)

Lightning poured out of Sasuke and into the water that Itachi's chakra construct was drenched in. Itachi flinched from the chakra drain, the attack amplified by the water sent waves of Raiton chakra coursing through his Susanoo. Itachi nearly fell to his knees and barely brought the Yata Mirror around to block a thunderous kick from Naruto.

Itachi slashed out with the Sword of Totsuka. He had no desire to actually use the weapon to trap either Naruto or Sasuke however the fight had to look real. Sasuke and Naruto both dodged the flickering weapon. With unspoken communication Naruto uses a shunshin to appear next to Sasuke and wildly overpowered a **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). Sasuke at the same moment used one of the advance Uchiha Katon techniques. Sasuke had uncovered the ancient scroll from the Uchiha clan compound and had worked hard to master it.

**"Katon: Goenkyu"** (Fire Release: Great Blaze Ball) roared out of Sasuke's mouth. The heat of the flames warped vision around it. The jutsu was said to be twice the temperature of any other Katon jutsu. The combination attack roared and slammed into Itachi's Susanoo. The heat turn all plant life still in the immediate vicinity of Itachi to ash. The combination of Futon and Katon would have overcome any Suiton jutsu; such was its heat and power. The Yata Mirror absorbed the brunt of the attack and neutralized the raging inferno of death. However all the parts of Itachi's Susanoo that were not directly behind the mirror burned away. Itachi's body was wracked in his pain as he reformed the rest of his Susanoo in the aftermath of the attack.

Itachi was impressed with his little brother. Very few Uchiha ever learned such a difficult and draining technique.

Despite the pain Itachi kept his voice even, "Without the power of these eyes that would have killed me little brother," Itachi taunted.

Sasuke was breathing hard form the last attack. Both Naruto and Sasuke were trained by Kakashi and they could see the reality of the fight clearly. The mirror made Itachi invincible but it could only point in one direction. If they could strike with enough power from multiple directions they could break apart the armored chakra construct and then finish Itachi off.

But time was running out. Sasuke had used a great deal of chakra and Naruto only had a few minutes left of senjutsu. Once that ran out he would be far more susceptible to Genjutsu and could only strike with a fraction of the speed and force he used now. Naruto and Sasuke's team work would have to be flawless for their next attack to work and it was unlikely they would get another chance. Sasuke grimaced and took a soldier pill for the needed stamina and chakra replenishment.

*****BREAK*****

Obito Uchiha needed to gather and extract all of the jinchuuriki in order for his plan to work. Iwagakure had committed a large force and most of its best fighters were away from the village. To compensate for this they had left Roshi of the Lava Release behind to guard it. Which made now the perfect time for Obito to collect the Yonbi.

Obito brought with him a few of the modified Zetsu clones. They now looked like perfect imitations of Konoha shinobi. Their purpose was twofold, draw out Roshi and to also ensure the flames of war continued to burn brightly. The man who currently called himself Madara Uchiha watched as the half dozen Zetsu clones began to cause a ruckus in the heart of Iwagakure itself.

*****BREAK*****

Juro Suzumori was reviewing paperwork that normally the Tsuchikage would be handling. Paperwork was the bane of all Kage. The sheer volume was appalling. His thoughts often wandered back to his eldest son. He wished he could be there with him. Konoha was serious about protecting its allies and he knew his child would be in over his head if Konoha responded to the attack with Kakashi and his deadly team.

Juro's mastery of his clan's jutsu was complete. This meant that when seven intruders suddenly appeared within Iwagakure itself he reacted instantly. He shouted out orders to prepare for battle and raced toward the enemy's vibrations.

'How is this possible? Has Konoha rediscovered the fourth's jutsu? '

The temporary leader of Iwa was troubled. He knew based on the movements and weight that it was not Naruto Namikaze. Could only certain individuals use the jutsu? Why attack with such a paltry force? Could this be a distraction? These thoughts swirled as he caught sight of his opponents.

Six of them were dressed as Konoha shinobi. Two he recognized from the bingo books as experienced chunin. The others he didn't recognize which meant they were in disguise or were not infamous enough to make into the bingo books. Two buildings were destroyed and scores of civilians were dead along with a pair of Iwa shinobi who happened to be in the area.

The final member of the attack group was masked and wore Akatsuki robes. Juro coldly analyzed the situation. He couldn't comprehend the situation fully; he knew he was missing something. Anyone could hire Akatsuki, the mercenary organization made no bones about going to the highest bidder. But why would a mercenary be trusted with the secret of their teleportation jutsu?

Juro needed no hand seals to direct the earth of the village to rise up and skewer the leaf shinobi. The spikes of rock erupted underneath their feet and tracked their movements. A combination of evasion and jutsu allowed most to survive but one didn't move in time and the rock speared her through. A moment later and a fuinjutsu seal exploded from within her.

More Iwa shinobi were racing to the fight and soon the leaf shinobi were retreating. The masked Akatsuki hadn't participated in the fight and had evaded everything with ease. More things weren't adding up in Juro's mind.

And now Iwa's trump defense card arrived on the scene. Roshi charged in spewing lava. Suzumori saw the Akatsuki leap directly at Roshi. Lava intercepted him and passed _through_ him. Juro sent a spike of earth where the man would land. The spike also passed through him and to his amazement the weight of the man's steps altered. It was as if a part of him was no longer attached.

Juro was delivered another nasty shock when the man touched Roshi and the jinchuuriki simply disappeared, the air distorting around him. The attack was disturbingly similar to Kakashi's jutsu that slew Maru the Bear King. The Iwa shinobi were finishing off the Konoha nin when they saw their chief defender disappear. They took a step back when the Akatsuki raised his arm but the Akatsuki merely waved. Space distorted around him and the man was gone.

The man was truly gone; he was not using some camouflage jutsu that masked his presence. This was not the Hiraishin no Jutsu of the forth Hokage. Juro would reply the battle a hundred times in his head to figure out if he could have done something different to avoid this disastrous occurrence. He had failed the Tsuchikage and his village once more. The shame threatened to crush his spirit.

'The only positive aspect of all of this is that Konoha does not have a new teleportation jutsu. The Akatsuki does. And they go to the highest bidder… if we can bring them to our side we could win this war.'

*****BREAK*****

If Itachi was healthy and truly intended to kill Sasuke and Naruto it would have been a close fight. But Itachi was not healthy and he had no desire to win the fight so his earlier attacks were pulled to avoid a potential lethal accident. But he did need to relay information and ensure contingences were in place.

That meant that he had to allow the pair to break his Susanoo down quickly and get close to both Naruto and Sasuke. Unfortunately for Itachi the best laid plans could be disrupted by Konoha's most unpredictable ninja.

Naruto and Sasuke came from opposite sides. Naruto wielding his chakra infused katana and Sasuke using Raikiri. Itachi blocked the Raikiri with the Yata Mirror and allowed the Susanoo chakra to take the Futon powered blade. It ripped into the armor, the flesh and into the bones of the Susanoo itself. Itachi could see chakra with his Sharingan eyes and saw the blade which had been reinforced with fuinjutsu strengthening seals instantly become infused with exponential levels of chakra.

Itachi instantly saw what was happening but the blade exploded in an instant within the heart of the Susanoo. Futon charged blade particles sliced through the inner parts of the Susanoo and into Itachi. The metal flew faster than the fastest thrown kunai, enhanced from within with wind, the element of speed. His eyes could see their trajectory but not even his razor honed reflexes could avoid them.

The metal pierced into him and threw him. It annihilated tissue, muscle or bone – the substance didn't matter. Naruto also suffered injuries but he had been able to direct most of the Futon chakra forward and away from his body. Even so the explosive force of the metal sent some his way and he now sported a jagged hole in his left thigh.

Itachi's Susanoo collapsed all around him. He coughed blood and his eyes were full of pain. Not from physical wounds but from the bitter taste of failure. He had not been able to share all of the information he wanted. He had not been able to implant the Amaterasu into Sasuke or pass on Shisui's gift.

Razor sharp metal had ripped through Itachi's arm, wrist, three separate parts of his lower torso, his ankle and his cheek. His body was a bloody mess and with the Susanoo gone he was defenseless against Sasuke. Before he could even try to speak or use his perforated body to defend himself, Sasuke's Raikiri exploded into his chest ending his life. Itachi's final thoughts were filled with regret but those dark clouds of despair had a silver lining. Naruto and Sasuke were far stronger then he had anticipated, this had surprised him and he hoped it would surprise Madara.

Sasuke looked down at the shattered remains of his brother. The man had ended his entire clan. The man had ruined his life. The man in Sasuke's eyes deserved death a thousand times over. Emotions filled him, Kakashi had taught his students to suppress emotions in battle but now that the battle with Itachi was done he allowed himself to feel those emotions.

Yes Itachi deserved death but Sasuke's heart remembered his older brother's younger years. The one who would flick his forehead, the one he had looked up to and idolized. Sasuke wept for the boy and not the man that Itachi had become. Instead of joy and satisfaction at avenging his family he felt sorrow and pain fill him instead. His eyes shed tears and then pain flared in them.

Naruto limped over to Sasuke and saw him clutch his face. "Sasuke did you get hit by a final attack or something?" Sasuke opened his eyes and looked at his friend. Naruto blinked. Sasuke's eyes… they were different.

**AN: **I struggled a lot with the Itachi fight. In cannon the Sasuke vs. Itachi fight was one of the best fights in my opinion and I'm not sure I can really do it justice. But if I didn't get past this fight I couldn't finish the story, hopefully you enjoyed it! As always I love your reviews and opinions.


	44. Chapter 43: Battle's End

**AN: **Please remember I can't respond to reviews via message if you don't log in when you do the review! I'm going to respond to one review who felt that team 7 was too strong.

They are strong – but not godlike. Keep in mind they are now time line wise about when the Pein invasion arc occurs. In that arc Naruto goes toe to toe with PEIN! Granted he had some help but Pein is no joke. Sasuke beats Orochimaru and Deidara (yay I spelled it right!) in one on one fights. I believe team 7's power levels are reasonable considering Kakashi has trained them in a far superior fashion then in the anime.

Also one reviewer commented that team 7 needs to take a loss. In this fic that that means someone dies. Losing has consequences and unlike in the show there are very few people with plot armor. Kakashi never wants team seven to rely on luck or an enemy's mercy or overconfidence. In story telling there are so many formulaic "Darkest Hour" trope like events artificially injected into stories that it drives me nuts. In those situations the heroes survives on luck or bad guy idiocy. Things look absolutely terrible before a near miraculous recovery – gag. Yes it can happen and probably will happen at some point in the story but it needs to be used VERY rarely. I refuse to use that literary device in most of the arcs of my fan fic.

That being said… things don't always go peachy for team seven. My Pein will be a lot more intelligent in his fights then the anime version and he won't even be the biggest problem.

On a final note – while I disagree with some reviewers by all means don't think I'm angry! I love it when people take the time to tell me what they think. It would be an extremely boring world if everyone had the same opinion. Please continue to read and review!

**Chapter 43: Battle's End**

Kisame had enjoyed his battle with the Hidden Waterfall jinchuuriki but underwater she was no match for him and Samehada. The unconscious girl was tossed over his shoulder after he let his Suiton jutsu collapse. The Takigakure nin were fearful and stepped away from him. The Iwagakure contingent at first tried to bar his path but Kisame had just grinned exposing his shark like teeth.

Battered after battle and seeing Kisame hardly even injured or winded the commander issued a terse withdrawal. Kisame could see the rest of the battle not going in favor of Iwa and that probably contributed to their decision.

'Time to find Itachi and report in to leader-sama.'

*****BREAK*****

Hana had been ravaging the Iwa forces when the signal to fall back came. Hana pummeled one last Iwa chunin to death before racing back to Shikamaru's command area. As she came closer she saw the state of her comrades. No Iwa shinobi had made it back there so why were there so many injured?

She barked out, "What happened here?"

A wounded chunin who was still ambulatory answered by simply stating, "Itachi Uchiha."

The Inuzuka's blood ran cold. Itachi Uchiha wiped out his entire clan. He was considered the most dangerous missing nin. Hana raced toward the fallen shinobi that looked the most injured.

She had originally learned medical ninjutsu to take care of animals but the skill carried over into healing humans. Choji had a nasty belly wound that without attention would kill him. With her there it was relatively easy to staunch the wound. She hurried over to the rest and miraculously no one was too far gone to be saved.

The Inuzuka clan head had fought a running battle and was now healing several people – exhausting was beginning to set in and she quickly downed a soldier pill. She took a moment to catch her breath and see the rest of the battle.

The Iwa force had been decimated. The center of the battle field still had waves of demonic energy coming from it however she could see no more Doton jutsu being used which meant that the Iwa forces there were dead or scattered. More difficult to see was the opposite flank of the battle where the Takigakure shinobi had been arrayed but it looked like a messy battle had taken place and then both sides had retreated in relatively good order.

She had been told that Naruto and Sasuke had chased away Itachi. After patching Shikamaru up she said, "We need to help Naruto and Sasuke. They are strong but this is Itachi we are talking about."

Shikamaru shook his head, "We can only send shinobi who are virtually immune to Genjutsu or we'll do more harm than good."

Hana looked at the battered remains of Shikamaru's command and realized that very few would be fit to fight. The critical wounds may have been healed but there had been a battle. With Hana's medical training she was better than most in detecting and dispelling Genjutsu. Hana suppressed a groan from aching limbs. She would leave her three nin dogs behind.

"I'll go, you, you and you with me."

She had picked out three chunin who were better than most in Genjutsu detection. Hana had no doubts she and her squad would be utterly destroyed by Itachi if they fought him alone but hopefully they would be able to provide assistance to Naruto and Sasuke. With her nose it would be easy to track them however that was unnecessary as large surge of chakra formed and created a reddish chakra construct.

'Kami what is that?'

*****BREAK*****

For the umpteenth time Kakashi dodged another vicious strike from the Iwa jinchuuriki. Exhaustion was setting in as Kakashi's body was being pushed to the very limits. The silver lining was that the Iwa forces were withdrawing, the death of their commander and the shattering of their lines had them panicked and demoralized.

While Kakashi created some separation between him and the seemingly untiring Han, Sakura sped several of her special fuinjutsu kunai at Han. A chain of explosive tags appeared around him and continued to explode for seconds later rocking the jinchuuriki backwards.

Sakura didn't let up firing her special weapons and pushing the dark red monstrosity back. In a rage Han began gathering chakra for a **Bijudama** (Tailed Beast Ball). Kakashi dashed forward and delivered a powerful spinning back kick that sent Han tumbling over the battlefield. The chakra however seemed tethered to him and the **Bijudama** (Tailed Beast Ball) grew larger.

Kakashi didn't want to use his eye but it looked like he would have no choice. Sakura signaled him back and Kakashi allowed his student to handle it. A tailed beast ball was no easy thing to handle nevertheless he had faith in her.

Sakura tossed kunai around Han and then yelled, **"Kekkai: Yon Koatari!"** (Barrier Art: Four Parts). Instantly the purple barrier connected the kunai together. On its own that would not be nearly enough to stop a **Bijudama** (Tailed Beast Ball). But Sakura wasn't done either.

She tossed another four kunai out in an even wider pattern and repeated the jutsu. And then again. Three layers of purple barriers were out in seconds when Han completed the gathering of the chakra. The ball of explosive death hit the first barrier and detonated. The barrier was instantly destroyed.

This was what Sakura had expected. She had deliberately altered the chakra used in the formation of the barrier to flood the ball with chakra making it unstable. It took away none of the sheer power of the attack but it did cause the attack to detonate now as opposed to piercing through the barrier and continuing on. The explosion radiated outward in all directions with relative equal force. This meant that it also struck Han who was still inside the barrier.

The secondary barrier was designed to contain the explosion, it failed in that regard but it did take some of force behind the explosion off. By the time it reached the third barrier its potency had shrank and even though it collapsed that barrier as well it did no harm to Sakura or Kakashi.

Han's transformation flickered. Kakashi instantly used a shunshin to dash forward and drive a Raikiri into the jinchuuriki's backside. The dark reddish chakra held for a moment and then collapsed. Han too collapsed, utterly drained of chakra both his own and that of the tailed beast sealed inside of him.

Relief flooded Kakashi but also indecision. Killing Han would rob Iwa of one of their jinchuuriki and prevent it from repapering for another 2 years. And while it would likely reappear within **Tsuchi no Kuni **(Land of Earth) it would need to be recaptured and then their host would have to be trained. And if Iwa wasn't careful another village might steal the bijuu before they were successful.

On the other hand if they captured Han they could extract the bijuu at their leisure and give Konoha another weapon. Alternatively they could also use Han as a bargaining chip to take Iwa out of the war. These ideas had merit but were complicated by the attack on Konoha itself. Depending on how things went it might be difficult to keep Han a prisoner while trying to drive out Kumo from their lands.

All of this was contemplated within a couple of seconds. Kakashi reviewed his options on last time and made his decision.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto had seen the shift in Sasuke's eyes; he had unlocked the advance Sharingan thing that his brother had been talking about. With his clones Naruto could be considered a voracious reader but there had been no books about higher forms of the Sharingan. He supposed they would classify as a clan secret.

Naruto tightly bandaged the hole in his thigh. The kyubi would eventually heal the damage but for now it made walking on it nearly impossible. He worried about the rest of the battle but Sasuke couldn't be left alone right now. He was bleeding from the eyes and his chakra was at critical level. Naruto knew basic field medicine, a bit more than that thanks to his reading but there wasn't much he could do about chakra exhaustion or figuring out the effects of the Uchiha bloodline.

Luckily for him a trained medical nin was headed directly for him. He saw Hana Inuzuka and three chunin trailing behind her. Hana immediately pushed a burst of chakra through her system and released it to make sure she wandered into a Genjutsu.

Naruto waved her over, "It's the real me, believe it!"

Hana saw Itachi's body and suppressed a shiver. His body had been nearly butchered it looked like. Well deserved of course but still the savagery reminder her of her own recent slaughter of Iwa shinobi. She saw that Sasuke was in worse shape and checked him over.

"What happened to your eyes?"

Sasuke responded, "Hnn, not something you can fix. Uchiha bloodline."

Hana growled, her patient wasn't being very helpful. Beyond that Sasuke didn't have significant injuries outside of a case of massive chakra exhaustion.

"Your part in the fight is done Sasuke. As it is I'm surprised you are still conscious. Don't use chakra for the next few days unless there is no other option."

Hana turned to Naruto, "Now let me take a look at your leg."

Before she could get very far they sensed another chakra presence. Kisame Hoshigaki was approaching and saw Itachi's body.

"Well damn I didn't think Itachi would actually lose to his kid brother!"

Instantly everyone was on their guard. Hana took a few sniffs and deduced that this wasn't the real Kisame. It was actually a **Mizu** **Bunshin** (Water Clone).

"He's a clone," she barked out to the rest of the group.

Naruto created a host of clones, though all of them also had wounded legs.

The Kisame clone however didn't attack; instead it turned and ran away. Naruto looked confused for a moment until Sasuke shouted, "Dobe, only shadow clones retain memories, unless the water clone reports back the real Kisame won't know what happened."

With that the hobbled clone army chased after the Kisame clone. The chunin made to follow but Hana called them back.

"We have wounded here, we don't have time to go chasing after missing nin."

The two chunin prepared a stretcher and placed Sasuke on it. He wasn't happy about being carried but physical excretion could compound chakra exhaustion. The chunin prepared to decapitate Itachi for Sasuke and Naruto so they could claim the bounty.

"Hnn use one of Sakura's stasis scrolls, his eyes need to be preserved," Sasuke ordered.

The chunin cut off Itachi's head and left the body where it was as the group headed back toward the Konoha lines.

*****BREAK*****

Kidomaru groaned as he regained consciousness. He had been caught at the edge of that massive Futon jutsu that had decimated the Iwa force. He looked around and saw corpses everywhere. He looked further and saw the Iwa forces in retreat but the Konoha shinobi not pursuing.

He also could not sense demonic chakra. He coughed up blood and forced himself to stand. He hated Konoha with a passion. He had signed up with Iwa for this fight in the hopes of killing some leaf shinobi and instead the rogue shinobi he recruited were dead all around him and he himself had almost bought it.

He spat blood on the ground and hurried to catch up with the retreating Iwa shinobi.

**AN: **I know this is a short chapter and a bit of a cliff hanger for Han but I wanted to get this chapter out. I'll be pivoting to the invasion of Hi no Kuni next. As always please read and review! Oh and due to the long break, I had completely forgotten about Kidomaru. Whoops – I guess he lives to fight another day.


	45. Chapter 44: Invasion Part I

**Chapter 44**

**AN: **Not as long of a break this time – and with more words!

**Chapter 44: **Invasion Part I

Anko waited patiently for the wary Kumo shinobi to fall into her trap. The 'useless' fuinjutsu seals that were leaking chakra were creating havoc on the Kumo scouts. Their entire column had slowed while their sensor specialists combed the area trying to determine what was creating the chakra sources. Along the way they had stumbled on some of Anko's traps. Being senor shinobi meant that there had been few causalities but that was about to change.

Anko was an infiltration specialist and had suppressed her chakra ruthlessly. Even with her skill she wasn't completely undetectable in a vacuum but with all of the other chakra signatures in the area she wasn't sensed. Three Kumo shinobi were carefully disrupting the genjutsu that covered the explosive tags in the ground and were not aware that Anko was already in position. After completing their task they detonated the seals, and it was at that precise moment that Anko chose to strike.

She led off with a brace of kunai firing them through the explosion. Her deadly accurate strikes took one Kumo nin in the eye and the other two barely deflected the deadly projectiles. As the explosion dissipated no more kunai came screaming in, instead a deadly Anko charged through the smoke.

The first Kumo nin died as Anko powered past his guard and ripped out his jugular with her kunai. Anko struck and moved, gracefully avoiding the blood spatter. The last Kumo shinobi attempted to use a variant of the **Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu** (Demonic Illusion – Hell Viewing Technique) taught in Kumo. Not a bad strategy Anko thought, so far the attacks had all been physical which could mean that she was vulnerable to Genjutsu.

'Too bad you are fighting a grade A badass like me!'

Anko easily shrugged off the Genjutsu that made her think she was falling up into the sky and blazed forward. The Kumo nin tried to use Kawarimi but he wasn't fast enough and Anko's foot crashed into his temple knocking him out. Anko had to move fast before more help arrived. She quickly cut the shinobi's tendons and broke several bones. Even with a medical nin on hand there would be no way he could help in the coming invasion.

Anko then tightly bound the man's limbs and strung him up by his legs into the tree. She then placed several discrete but fairly obvious traps for the enemy nin. When more Kumo shinobi arrived they would want to save their comrade. The traps would be too simple so they would continue looking for more when in reality Anko wasn't going to bother with anything more. How many sensory specialists would waste precious time looking for traps that weren't there? Mission complete Anko hurried on to her next ambush point.

*****BREAK*****

Iruka worried about his wife. He didn't dare express that worry since Anko was quite touchy about her skill as a shinobi. Despite Iruka's recent training Anko was still far more formidable on the battlefield. In this arena in particular she was nearly unmatched. Iruka gladly played second fiddle to Anko on this deadly mission, pride was of no concern. What was of concern was Anko's safety. He loved her and the thought of her being harmed filled him with dread.

Right now he had to focus as his team was about to make a lightning strike at the advanced elements of the Kumo invasion force. The attack wasn't designed to do much damage; its purpose was to lure the pursuing shinobi into a maze of deadly traps. Snares, pit traps, fuinjutsu triggered explosions, pre-layered Genjutsu and vicious counter attacks would be waiting for them.

Iruka and six ANBU sprinted across the woodland and opened up Sakura Haruno's kunai scrolls. Each scroll blasted out pressured driven kunai into the Kumo ranks. Between the seven of them almost 300 kunai filled the air.

Naruto's Academy teacher was disappointed to see little effect. Kumo had been warned about the projectiles and one of the leading shinobi countered with a **"Futon: Reppusho" **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) that scattered the projectiles. One of the ANBU ninjutsu specialists launched a Katon jutsu into their ranks but it was dodged and so far they had done minimal damage to leading Kumo elements.

Iruka signaled the retreat and they backed away from the fight. The Kumo shinobi however didn't pursue. As commander of this group Iruka weighed his options. He could try to bait them again but that could backfire as by now the Kumo shinobi would have relayed the information back to the greater bulk of their forces.

Cautious by nature Iruka had his team melt back into the trees. There would be more opportunities.

*****BREAK*****

The Raikage and the Tsuchikage were marching together near the front of the formation behind the 500 shinobi scouts they had tasked with clearing the way. Darui and C were close by when they received the message that their scouts had made contact with Konoha forces.

The messenger was breathing heavily as he reported.

"Fuyu reports that Konoha has trapped the way ahead extensively. They are also engaging in hit and run tactics. ANBU are in the woods and casualties are expected to be high unless the pace is slowed."

The Raikage growled. Fuyu was a trusted jonin and she was one of the best when it came to reconnaissance. He had never known her to be wrong and that left him with a decision to make. If he pushed on ahead at full speed like he had planned his forces would take significant damage. However if they slowed their progress it gave Konoha more time to prepare and possibly allow whatever forces they sent to help Takigakure time to return.

"Thoughts?" The Raikage asked his small circle of advisors.

He hadn't really been asking Onoki but the Tsuchikage advocated for more speed. "If they are sending elite units to slow us down they are desperate for more time. Don't dawdle, push on and crush Konoha!"

Darui stared impassively at the leader of Iwa, "It is not your people who will be dying if we push forward quickly."

The leader of Kumogakure knew Darui's thoughts. He would want to slow down. But lives saved now could lead to more lives lost later. C was silent, not convinced that either course was best.

"As much as I hate to waste lives I must…" the Raikage started to say before Darui interrupted and inclined his head.

"Lord Raikage perhaps there is a third option. Our scout teams are skilled but allow me to lead a kill team against Konoha's saboteurs. We will strike fast and kill them. They are using traps and then sending assassination specialists to kill our sensor shinobi. If we take them out then the traps can be dealt with safely."

Darui watched his leader consider it. "Fine just don't get yourself killed I'm depending on you to keep this army functioning properly. When we hit Konoha I'll have no time to lead as I'll be hunting down Konoha's elite."

Darui touched the hilt of his blade and dropped to one knee. "I will not fail." With a crackle of lightning marking his departure Darui disappeared and gathered his band of killers.

*****BREAK*****

Anko and Iruka's teams had success in slowing down the disarming of the traps and obstacles they had laid out. After several hours Anko had 19 kills with her solo missions alone. The ANBU squads had only suffered one death and one minor injury, leaving 23 effectives not including Iruka and Anko.

Anko told them, "We're doing well so far, the Kumo advance is slowing a bit. The scouts are trying to be tricky. A group of them are flanking far to the south. They'll probably swing around and try to hunt us instead."

Their Katon specialist a blocky ANBU with the designation Komodo looked at Anko and said, "We'll be ready."

Iruka spoke up, "They aren't taking the bait to pursue us into the trapped areas. I think we'll need to hit them hard to provoke them."

Anko smiled and twirled a kunai with one of her fingers.

"We'll hit them in the nose with half of the group. Iruka take six and continue laying traps in region 22. I want the rest of you to work in pairs and do quick strikes at range. They have been defensive so far but stay sharp that could change at any time."

Anko and Iruka shared a brief glance before splitting up. As they sprinted through the trees Komodo drew closer to Anko. "Why is Iruka in charge of the reserve force? He's our best sensor."

Anko glared at the masked ANBU soldier, "Are you really questioning me in the middle of a mission."

"I'm questioning your allocation of resources and I'm wondering if you are allowing your emotional attachments to jeopardize the mission."

"I really don't have time for this shit. I'll run this the way I want to. I have my reasons for placing Iruka in reserve. He's a Suiton specialist, one of the last ambushes we'll be setting is at the river. I don't want to exhaust him without reason."

Komodo nodded and fell back into formation. Anko was pissed, not because she was being challenged but because her reasoning was an excuse. She knew Iruka could handle himself he was a jonin after all but he hadn't been a jonin for long. She didn't think she could live with herself if he got himself killed, especially if she was the one who put him in harm's way.

*****BREAK*****

Danzo and ROOT were nearing the capital and the seat of power of the Fire Daimyo. He tasked Sai and two of his best stealth specialists with a critical mission.

"I need to know who is leading the Kumo attack force as well as the names of as many jonin as you can determine."

Danzo didn't explain why he needed the data and his operatives didn't ask. If something were to happen to him it wouldn't matter anyway since his plan wouldn't work. It all hinged on the eye he stole from Shisui. Bending the commander to his will would do little if the enemy suspected Genjutsu. No it would not be as simple as a quick confrontation and an easy victory.

What needed to happen would require far more finesse. In any shinobi village there were traitors and those who sold their comrades out for one reason or another. Danzo had a list of chunin and jonin that could be bought – be it through coin, blackmail or the lives of their dependents that ROOT had already secured.

Danzo could see how things could come together if manipulated in just the right way. Danzo's hope of victory lay with the attacking Kumo army cannibalizing itself. Failure to accomplish that would lead to a bloody last stand that not even he and his ROOT could hope to survive.

Contingency plans were still necessary and while he waited for the necessary information he would need to speak with the Fire Daimyo and prepare the city.

*****BREAK*****

Darui knew the makeup of the entire Kumo invasionary force. It didn't take him long to pick a dozen capable shinobi. Half of them were elite combat specialists, a few were sensors and still others were experts in poison and trap setting. One was proficient in Genjutsu and kept their chakra and presence hidden.

Darui waited patiently as two Konoha shinobi launched a long range assault on a team of scouts disarming a nest of traps. They were keeping their distance and using long range attacks. Darui signaled his team and then he moved with blistering speed toward the two elite ANBU.

Darui ripped his blade from his sheath and descended on the first ABNU. The kunoichi barely had time to raise her tanto before the blade flickered up and slammed into her guard. The sudden hit drove her backward and her partner hastily attempted to intervene.

The right arm of the Raikage dodged the counterattack and nearly decapitated the second ANBU. The quick cut had been anticipated but the raw speed was too much. Instead of losing his head a nasty gash ripped through the mask and bit into his forehead. The head wound bled profusely getting into the ANBU's eyes.

The initial ANBU had recovered but had other worries as two more Kumo shinobi circled her one an obvious taijutsu expert and the other speeding through hand signs for a Raiton jutsu. Her instinct was to disrupt the jutsu but she wasn't quite fast enough and raw electricity poured into her frying her nervous system. The taijutsu specialist quickly snapped her neck and then turned to help their commander.

It was unnecessary as Darui had not let up. After delivering the head wound he rained down a serious of blows that proved to his subordinates just why he was a master in kenjutsu. The ANBU didn't even have time to try to a shunshin or a Kawarimi. His last act was to activate the explosive seals on his body in the hopes of taking Darui with him. Darui leapt backwards as the explosions rocked the area.

'Konoha is dangerous. They seem to all be ticking time bombs of one sort or another.'

Darui's kill team had its first success but he knew the mastermind was still out there. He quickly signaled his men and returned back to the main group of scouts. The Genjutsu was layered over the kill squad and he brought down his chakra signature as low as he could make it.

*****BREAK*****

Unbeknownst to Anko she had just lost a pair of ANBU she had tasked to commence the hit and run strikes. Even if she had been aware of it she may not have changed her current course of action. Anko and her squad had used overwhelming force to decimate one of the advance patrols and were in position to hit main body of the scout formation. In total over a 100 Kumo shinobi were moving steadily forward while dozens of scouts reported back and were sent out on missions to remove the traps and clear areas.

"Time to stir the ant's nest," Anko announced in an upbeat tone.

Anko and the dozen ANBU with her advanced at a sprint. When they neared the enemy forces those with larger chakra pools created clones, of the mud, shadow or water variety. Ahead of the clones Anko raced forward, behind her streamed the clones and finally the real ANBU.

Once they were within long range Anko shouted, "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu" **(Summoning Technique). Her bloodied hand slammed into the ground and a massive two headed serpent appeared. Its thick scales easily deflected the array of kunai and shuriken that had been launch at the Konoha forces.

After summoning the massive snake Anko continued her rapid advance. Her ANBU opened scrolls that let loose a massive discharge of kunai into the Kumo line. The response was the few Futon users that Kumo had moved to the front and used their jutsu to deflect the kunai. Anko eyed them and made a bee line for the futon specialists.

The ANBU known as Komodo also picked out a Futon specialist and launched **Katon: Karyu Endan** (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet) at him.

Anko ruthlessly slashed down with her blades, her serpentine movements were hard to follow and two Kumo shinobi lost their lives in as many seconds. With the Futon specialists taken care of the next payload was launched by ANBU.

This time the kunai that were propelled forward had explosive tags attached and Anko quickly used Kawarimi to get some distance from the Kumo shinobi. Explosions rippled through the area. Many Kumo shinobi took evasive measures but the air was thick with kunai and explosions. Even seasoned chunin fell victim to the attack.

While the attack was devastating it did not prevent the Kumo forces from unleashing a blistering counterattack. Raiton jutsu filled the air as bolts of lighting and streams of electricity sought out the Konoha forces. The ANBU used the great snake as a shield avoiding the worst of it.

Anko was pleased with the attack but knew she would need to do more damage. Every scout she killed would slow down the main advance. Anko used a shunshin to get close to a pair of hardy Kumo nin who had survived the explosive barrage. One started to go through the hand seals for a Raiton jutsu but was interrupted as Anko used **Sen'eijashu** (Striking Shadow Snakes). The shinobi tried to avoid the venomous snakes but wasn't quite fast enough.

His partner lashed out with a chakra enhanced kick that Anko blocked… with a kunai. The shinobi's leg was impaled and Anko ripped the kunai out viciously tearing an even larger gash. It took her another second for that same kunai to find its way into his beating heart.

Anko relished the danger and combat, it brought our inner adrenaline junkie. Dozens of Kumo shinobi lay dead but before Anko could continue her slaughter an opponent erupted from underneath the ground. Anko was wary enough to avoid the **Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu** (Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu). Anko was a little surprised to see a Doton jutsu used from a Kumo shinobi; it wasn't a common elemental affiliation in **Kaminari no Kuni** (Land of Lightning).

Anko stepped away from her rising opponent. She was a short woman with short dark hair that was peppered with gray. She wielded a pair of short blades and slashed as she rose out of the ground. Anko deflected the blade and then gutted her. Anko's eyes widen in shock as electricity exploded outward from the **Raiton Kage Bunshin** (Lighting Shadow Clone.) Her nerves bore the brunt of the electrical shock. Anko's muscles suffered spasm after spasm as she fought to regain control of her body. Anko knew she had little time.

Erupting from the ground in front of her was the real Fuyu. Anko vaguely remembered she was supposed to be an A ranked infiltration specialist. Mitarashi barely managed to get a kunai up to deflect the first tanto strike. Her normal force wasn't in it and her arm was shoved away and the tanto struck down toward her chest.

Anko's muscles screamed at her as she forced them to move. Unable to fully get away from the blow she at least managed to avoid suffering a lethal strike. Instead the enemy's blade struck her shoulder and bit deeply. Anko let her body fall back from the blow and blew a poisoned shard of metal that she kept in her mouth. Anko had long since acclimated her body to the poison so it didn't harm her. Fuyu instantly deflected it but it allowed Anko another precious moment to regain control of her electrified body.

Fuyu came on and Anko countered the chopping blades with another **Sen'eijashu** (Striking Shadow Snakes). Unlike her comrade Fuyu did not fall to the snakes. Instead her blades whirled and diced the snakes to pieces barely slowing her advance.

"Fuck," Anko cursed as she narrowly avoided death with a no seal Kawarimi. Fuyu instantly reoriented on her and slammed her blades together forming a **Raikyu** (Lightning Ball) that closed the distance at near impossible speeds. Anko flattened herself onto the ground avoiding the attack but now she was on the ground and Fuyu was descending on her.

Anko used two kunai to parry each of the descending blades while on her back she kicked up and rolled backward. Her feet connected with Fuyu's torso and the jonin was flung backward a good dozen feet. In mid air Fuyu performed a Kawarimi with debris next to Anko who had been able to just get back onto her feet.

Metal screamed against metal as Anko desperately tried to keep the dancing blades from her body. Her shoulder ached and blood loss would soon become a problem. With those problems Anko had difficulty paying attention to the larger battle around her. The swirling melee she found herself in would be deadly if she made the tiniest of mistakes.

Anko saw Komodo come to her aid and she ducked right as his Katon jutsu burned through the air where her torso had been. Fuyu performed a near instant Kawarimi but even with her speed her skin suffered burns. Anko whistled sharply signaling the withdrawal.

Anko left behind the unintelligent two headed snake to slow down the enemy. It didn't slow them down for long as Fuyu broke off her pursuit of Anko and climbed up the side of the snake. One of her blades were made from the same chakra conductive metal as Naruto's kunai and when she reached the top of the snake she flooded her chakra into the tanto and pushed it straight through the scales and into the snake's brain.

While Anko was wounded she was happy to see the damage her squad had caused. More importantly was the fact that Kumo had finally taken the bait and were charging after.

'I didn't expect to be injured this early in the game but I finally got them headed right to where I want them.'

*****BREAK*****

Danzo bowed his head to the Fire Daimyo. The feudal lord was a rational even tempered ruler but one that was looking exceedingly nervous.

"Potentially 5,000 shinobi are threatening us and your Hokage only sends 40 in response?" The Fire Daimyo's voice was steady but there was a noticeable shake in his hand.

Danzo responded, "It is unlikely that there are that many shinobi. Many will be simple soldiers."

The Fire Daimyo fanned himself. He was not pleased with Konoha! He was the ruler of Hi no Kuni surely he deserved more than 40 shinobi to augment his forces. In the capital he had 2,000 soldiers and could put weapons in the hands of another 2,000 civilians, though their worth would be questionable. He had his bodyguard of twelve shinobi and if the city could hold out long enough more soldiers could be summoned.

"Forty? Is that truly all Jiraiya can spare?"

"Hai, if you will grant me permission to coordinate the defense I will not tire you with the details."

The Fire Daimyo was not a fool, he knew very little about the practical applications of war. He had advisors for that sort of thing after all. And it would stress him terribly. And so he nodded in agreement and allowed Danzo to coordinate their defense efforts.

Danzo quickly picked out the two men he needed to deal with. The general in charge of the armies of Hi no Kuni was an older man by the name of Katsuo Maki. He had been apprenticed in **Tetsu no Kuni **(Land of Iron) in his youth. He was no Mifune but he had a solid grasp of military matters.

The second man was head of the **Shugonin** **Junishi** (Twelve Guardian Ninja). He was an Akimichi originally from Konoha who hadn't seen eye to eye with Choza regarding keeping Choji as heir to the Akimichi clan. His name was Chion.

"Katsuo arm some of the civilians. If any of the civilians are actually competent add them to your regular units. Keep the worthless ones away, I'll have a use for them but not if they are mixed in with our productive assets."

Katsuo frowned at the callous implications but nodded his head. The Fire Daimyo had spoken.

"Chion how many of the guardians are you willing to pull off of guarding the Fire Daimyo?"

Chion considered it and said, "Six will stay behind and guard him and the royal family. I will lead the others assisting you."

"Scour the town and search for any retired shinobi. Some squads may trickle in on their way back to Konoha; we will add them to your shinobi."

Katsuo asked, "How many shinobi can we expect the enemy to bring?"

"One to two thousand if my spies are reporting accurately."

The old man almost choked. "At a minimum one thousand shinobi? We will be torn apart, we should flee instead."

Danzo normally gave the impression of being feeble but he had set aside his usual tactic. Instead he entered the general's personal space and softly spoke, "The Hokage has entrusted me with the defense of this city. I will not fail."

Katsuo was rarely intimidated which made this moment all the worse for him. However he was samurai trained and so he mastered the sudden fear that Danzo had created and roughly spoke, "Hai."

Danzo dismissed them and considered the cities chances. If Sai and the others failed to bring back actionable intelligence the city was probably doomed. If that was the case he would ensure as many Kumo shinobi died regardless of the cost to the civilians.

*****BREAK*****

Fuyu's blood was up. Her scouts had been mauled, tortured, executed and hit by truly twisted traps. Fuyu knew that the woman she was chasing was almost solely responsible. Anko Mitarashi, one time apprentice to Orochimaru the snake Sannin. She specialized in torture, interrogation, infiltration, trap making and assassination. Fuyu was determined to rid the world of such a twisted individual.

Fuyu was no stranger to assassination but torture disgusted her. It was uncivilized and reeked of an era of barbarity that should have ended. Fuyu's keen senses knew she was heading into a trap. At her signal her forces put up a Genjutsu to mask their movements and then she summoned a lightning clone while others brought up their own clones. The clones then advanced ahead and charged into hell.

Sure enough traps were sprung, kunai were launched, pits opened up and toxic fumes rose from the ground. Buried explosive seals added to the chaos. At the cost of chakra a death trap that would have killed potentially scores of shinobi was neutralized. Fuyu signaled her troops to advance slowly and more cautiously.

Fuyu had received word that help was on the way so she could afford to be patient. She allowed one of the medical nin time to heal some of the burns on her face. Mitarashi had made a mockery of her reconnaissance specialists and she had every intention of killing her the next time they met.

*****BREAK*****

Anko muttered a curse. She had been certain they were going to charge in. Fighting a pitched battle wasn't going to work. They needed to circle around and hit other targets; the enemy commander in front of her wasn't going to fall for her tricks so she needed to find softer targets.

She met up with Iruka and his relief squad. He was concerned about her shoulder and so she let him fuss over it. A sturdy bandage was attached and she took a plasma pill that replenished her blood levels. A soldier pill was downed next and helped her recover some of her chakra.

While he was working on her shoulder Iruka said, "Two of our ANBU pairs haven't reported in yet."

Anko grimaced, "Damn it. We are bleeding resources; I lost one in the last fight. What happened?"

"Someone good is hunting them. We won't be able to slow them down unless we take care of their hunters." Iruka looked troubled as he explained this. "I don't think this is going to work Anko-chan. Kumogakure has some of their best on the field. It might be better to fall back and see if we can be used in the defense of Konoha."

Anko looked at her husband coolly, "No, we haven't completed the mission."

Iruka replied, "Jiraiya-sama told us this wasn't a suicide mission. We've lost 6 ANBU and paid them back 20 fold for it. We haven't slowed them down significantly but their wariness will slow them down all the way to the village."

Konoha's snake mistress wasn't about to admit defeat yet. She still had a few tricks to play and she understood the importance of slowing the invasion. Their best combat team was assisting Takigakure. If Kakashi's team was back in Konoha then she would have gladly agreed with Iruka and returned. But without them she wasn't certain of victory even with the likes of Jiraiya, Tsunade and Gai. If she could stall the enemy long enough it might give team seven a chance to make it back in time for the battle.

"I've been command of this mission Iruka, we aren't done yet."

Iruka looked incredibly frustrated with the decision but nodded his head.

Komodo looked to Anko, "What's the play commander?"

**AN: ** No team seven this chapter but I hope you enjoyed it. As always I appreciate your reviews! Oh and I also added a chapter to my 2nd story. That story is receiving a lot less views/reviews then the first couple of chapters of this one. Is it because it's rated M and doesn't show up on the default search or is it just not that interesting?


	46. Chapter 45: Extreme Measures

**AN: **My story has broken 200k words and has almost 800 reviews! You guys rock!

No team 7 again but they will be back soon… well soonish.

**Chapter 45: **Extreme Measures

Anko could see her current strategy wasn't working as planned. She looked to Iruka and then to her ANBU and came to a solution, a risky one however.

"I want four of you to continue trapping the obvious routes from here to Konoha. Keep your distance however I don't want you die."

She continued, "The rest of us are going to swing north and travel at top speed for several hours. We are then going to double back and try to avoid their scouting forces and hit the main body."

Iruka's eyes widened. The plan was incredibly risky. The Kumo scouts would then be in between them and Konoha. They could easily find themselves completely surrounded.

Komodo was a seasoned ANBU and also knew the risks however he could see the benefits. The scouts were currently concentrated in the forward arc of the enemy formation. By bypassing their sensor shinobi they could do some real damage and have their traps take out far more shinobi.

Iruka started to say something but was silenced by Anko's look.

"We don't have time to discuss this, move out."

The four chosen ANBU retreated away from the Kumo army and began a continuation of their original trap laying. Meanwhile Anko, Iruka, Komodo and the remaining ANBU sped off toward the north.

*****BREAK*****

Fuyu was both pleased and annoyed with her progress. Her sensor shinobi had not been ambushed in the last few hours and were able to clear most of the traps at a decent pace. They still lost a few due to the creativity of their opponent. And that was why she was annoyed; it looked as if Mitarashi had fled back to her accursed village.

She expressed her frustration to Darui who had come to ambush the ambushers. Darui on the other hand did not think Anko was finished.

"I've fought a few times with Konoha and even our victories have always had a snare behind them. I have a feeling that she's still around.

Fuyu wasn't going to argue with the right hand of the Raikage and so she listened to what his suggestions were.

"Divide your scouts and have them search in illogical places. Far to the south or north of our attack path, look for underground passageways and check the identities of your men. Konoha has researched new jutsu so don't take anything for granted."

Fuyu relayed her orders and soon scouts were not only clearing and searching along the route to Konoha but in the surrounding areas. Fuyu wasn't sure if Darui was right but she hoped he was. She wanted Anko dead and if she was still out there her days were numbered.

*****BREAK*****

Team 8 had been in northern Hi no Kuni when the invasion began. The recall order spread like wildfire across the land and Kiba, Hinata and Shino raced back towards home. However they were well away from Konoha and other enemies presented themselves.

The major towns and villages were coming under assault by shinobi from Moyagakure and Shimogakure. One such town had an ongoing battle that brought the stench of burning and war to Kiba's sensitive nose.

"Damn looks like we are too late to get behind the walls," Kiba growled.

Hinata patted his shoulder lightly, "We can hit them from the rear."

Shino agreed, "A surprise attack will disrupt them and we are best suited for it."

Team 8 stealthily approached. It was embarrassingly easy to take out the few pickets that were posted. Most of the invaders were currently ravaging the town. This set Kiba's teeth on edge. Hi no Kuni had done nothing at all to Moyagakure or Shimogakure. To cowardly band together and invade their country was something they would suffer for.

Shino whispered to his companions, "They have broken through into the village and there seems to be little formal resistance. My assumption is that they have descended into looting now that they believe the battle is over."

Kiba snarled, "It isn't over. Not by a long shot."

The three shinobi had fought in numerous battles. This included fighting against S ranked opponents. While they held the rank of chunin they could qualify as jonin and their teamwork was now near team seven levels.

Hinata still held a heart full of compassion however she stilled that emotion and looked to her two comrades. "We don't have time to take or guard prisoners. We are hunting to kill."

Kiba looked on with pride at his mate. This was not the soft Hyuga from the Academy. This was the girl, no this was the woman who would fight by his side and teach their enemies to fear the wrath of Konohagakure.

*****BREAK*****

Anko's team had some success with her plan. Unfortunately they had been spotted by scouts and one had managed to send a flare of chakra skyward before they were able to silence them. Anko had ordered a pair of ANBU to set a false trail while they continued on.

With the knowledge that Kumo would soon be in the area they redoubled their efforts and soon were able to get within striking distance of the main contingent of Kumo forces. There they were able to play havoc with the enemy. Scores of enemy shinobi lay dead and when they had attempted to pursue it had gotten very messy for the enemy.

Not stopping there they had then struck out at another point along the march. Word had spread however and they were unable to pull shinobi away but still they had done damage and slowed several formations.

They were circling back for a third go when their luck ran out. Iruka sensed them first.

"Two dozen shinobi incoming, they are moving fast."

Mitarashi cursed and summoned a pair of giant snakes before the enemy could close. Her ANBU turned and opened the few remaining kunai scrolls they had left. Kunai rained down on the approaching shinobi who had fairly easily battered them away. There were a few injuries but only one looked serious.

In the lead of the Kumo group was Darui and he was instantly recognized. Anko bit back another curse and dashed forward to intercept him. ANBU were skilled and their abilities were varied but against Darui they were woefully inadequate.

'Hell I'm not much better!'

The first ANBU was cut down but before Darui could do more damage Anko was there lashing out with a kunai in one hand and snakes descending on him from her sleeves. Darui calmly cut down the snakes with a few swipes and kicked out with his foot catching Anko in the ribs.

Anko grunted with pain as she rolled on the grass. Lightning crackled around her as another Kumo shinobi sought to end her. The bolt of azure energy nearly hit her but a sixth sense had made her continue her roll. She ignored her aching ribs and sent her kunai at Darui while simultaneously grabbing a smoke bomb and dropped it on the ground at her feet.

Iruka hadn't been idle and he had been able to execute the Raiton user who had nearly killed his wife. He didn't have time to help against Darui due to having to deal with two more enemies at once. It was an in close taijutsu brawl that a year ago would have killed Iruka in its opening moments. Instead he was able to position himself so that the two got in each other's way as often as they helped each other out.

Darui had deflected the kunai with his katana and approached the smoke confidently. Anko sensed her elite ANBU fighting toe to toe with an equally elite force. Easy pickings were gone and if she didn't stop Darui he would easily tip the balance and her soldiers, and Iruka, would be massacred.

Anko struck as soon as Darui entered the haze. She was low to the ground and was aiming for his legs. Darui brought his katana down and Anko darted to one side. Darui reacted with instant precision and he continued the stroke but moved its trajectory horizontally. Mitarashi brought her kunai up in a block. She would have then been able to kick out at the deadly nin however the force of the blow pushed her backward.

She again rolled on the ground and in the midst of the roll she stopped being able to sense Darui. He had moved like lightning and he had somehow gotten behind her. His blade plunged down for a killing strike. But she had been trained by the snake Sanin. Her body swayed abruptly and the blade passed through air as she spun and attempted a slash to the eyes.

Darui was impressed she had dodged the kill stroke. The kunai came for his eyes and he shifted his grip to one hand and caught her wrist. Anko writhed in his grip and slipped away despite his superior strength. The move had cost her as his blade sliced at her as she moved away. His katana left a thin string of pain across her ribs.

Before Anko could even fully register the cut he was on her. She went into full evasion mode using every trick she had picked up from Orochimaru's arsenal. Her body moved in ways that seemed to defy human physiology and it was only enough to avoid serious harm. A cut across the arm, a kick to the face and an elbow to her chest were proof that she wasn't going to win the fight.

Iruka caught what was happening at the corner of his eye and created enough separation between him and his opponents to use a Kawarimi to appear a dozen feet away from Darui. He flashed through hand seals in a fraction of a second and launched **Suiton: Teppodama** (Water Release: Gunshot) at Darui. The watery projectile flew faster than a kunai. Darui casually leaned backward and the water shot past him.

It didn't even give Anko half a second but it was enough for her to realize her fight was hopeless. Around her she could see her ANBU fighting well but already some had fallen. Reinforcements would be arriving soon and she saw no path to victory. At least not without taking measures she never thought she would have to take.

'Kami I hope this works.'

Anko jumped backward into the air. That kind of jump would allow Darui to easily get in another attack as she couldn't change her trajectory in mid air however it did allow her enough space to use Kawarimi. Finally with enough breathing room she gathered all the chakra she could and shouted out, "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu" **(Summoning Technique).

A massive plume of smoke blanketed the area. Anko's chakra network was pounding as she threw down another soldier pill. It was dangerous to take another but she had no choice. Underneath her purple scales were visible. She was far above the battle field now as many of the shinobi broke off their encounters to assess the new development.

Manda hissed angrily, "You dare summon ME?"

*****BREAK*****

Konoha headquarters was a mass of energy and controlled chaos. Shikaku had things well in hand and Jiraiya took a moment for himself and sought out Tsunade. Tsunade was organizing the medical nin teams as well as the hospital staff. Multiple triage stations would be dispersed throughout the village and medical teams would be put in position to provide rapid aid.

Tsunade had just finished providing orders to disperse the medical supplies when she spotted her old teammate. Jiraiya motioned with his head and Tsunade excused herself and followed him.

"Care for one last drink before we'll all be too busy?"

Tsunade agreed and they soon found themselves inside one of the many sake establishments.

"How are you holding up Tsunade? I know you hate war."

Tsunade grimaced, "I'll be fine. I hate all of this but I know you are trying to build a lasting peace. I'll fight and I'll make sure Kumogakure is going to be as sick of war as I am."

Jiraiya studied his teammate out of the corner of his eye. Tsunade had grown in the last couple of years. She was a long way from the gambling drunk on the run. She had produced medical cures and new treatments. The next generation of Konoha shinobi would be able to handle injuries that would have been fatal or crippling. And while she never stopped gambling completely she was the soul of moderation.

"Has Shikaku spoken to you about your role in the conflict?"

Tsunade shrugged, "I'll be on the front instead of running the triage and recovery areas. I'm not surprised and I am fine with it."

He was glad that she was being cooperative. He knew better than anyone how stubborn Tsunade could be when she dug in her heels. It was time to throw her some good news.

"We still need someone competent to run things though. I was thinking we could move Shizune to that role and you can fill her spot on Gai's team."

Tsunade swallowed thickly and blinked a few times. Shizune would be safe. Or at least as safe as one could be in the oncoming storm.

With genuine emotion she thanked Jiraiya. She actually stood up and gave her teammate a full body hug that forced Jiraiya hide a lecherous grin. Tsunade's ahem, assets had lost none of their appeal to him and he could feel them through his clothes as she pressed against his chest.

When she released the hug Jiraiya sat back down and said, "I know how much she means to you. I can't keep everyone safe but I'll do what I can."

"The village is lucky to have you as Hokage. I never treated you the way you deserved to be treated. You're an idealistic, courageous man of vision. Konohagakure is lucky to have you."

Jiraiya saw something different in Tsunade's eye. Could she finally be seeing him in a different, possibly even romantic light? He decided not to push his luck. If they both survived he would take a serious look at the possibility of a relationship though.

He laughed, "I've been telling everyone that for years!"

The two let a few moments pass in silence before Jiraiya spoke again.

"Gai, Asuma, Neji and you will be one of our three kill teams. Your job will be to go after the Raikage, Killer B or Darui."

"Who are the other two teams?"

"I'll be with Pa and Ma and we'll be joined by Yugao, Genma and Hiashi. The final kill team will be Inoichi, Shikaku and Choza. They'll also have Ebisu to round out the team."

"Three teams for three targets. I see Kakashi is rubbing off on you."

Jiraiya grinned, "Hard not to take his suggestions seriously. He's got the smarts of a Nara, the eyes of an Uchiha and the taijutsu of a Hyuga. I'd feel a whole lot better if he was here with us when Kumo arrives."

"Him and his team," Tsunade agreed. "Have you received any word?"

"Last we heard the fight was about to begin, Iwa had sent a large force. Unless Anko and Iruka can pull off a miracle there will be no way that team seven will arrive in time."

Tsunade drained the last of her cup. "We both have work to do. Don't die on me Jiraiya."

Jiraiya watched her leave. He had no plans on dying but truth be told he was worried. Kumo's attack force was massive and the Raikage was a monster in combat. He would need senjutsu just to keep up and even then it might not be enough. And while his guards were solid jonin he wondered how effective they would be against someone like the Raikage.

*****BREAK*****

Anko knew that she had to appease Manda as quickly as possible.

"Manda I was Orochimaru's student, Anko Mitarashi. I would not dare call on you unless I felt it was a battle worthy of your presence."

The great snake summon hissed, "Where are my sacrifices?"

Anko continued her fawning, "I promise you that I will not only bring 100 sacrifices but 200! Deal with my foes and there will be more opportunities for sacrifices and for battle."

Anko crossed her fingers hoping that the great snake would buy it. Manda was a summon like no other. The great toad clan offered fighters that could use ninjutsu and senjutsu but Manda was pure physical power. No other summon was as strong physically, even Ibuse was 2nd in that department. Though of course the mighty salamander made up for it in other ways. If Manda would join the fight they had a chance.

Manda hissed and finally said, "It has been too long since I have fought a worthy foe. Very well but if I do not have my 200 sacrifices by the next rise of the moon your life is forfeit!"

Anko breathed a sigh of relief and reoriented herself on the battle. The cloud shinobi had backed off of the attack but now Manda moved forward seeking to crush a group of them. The sudden strike caught two of them off guard and they were crushed to a pulp under the multi ton serpent.

Darui sprang into action and lead off with one of his most powerful jutsus. **"Ranton: Reiza Sakasu" **(Storm Release: Laser Circus). The attack lashed out from his hands as a wave of energy striking the massive serpent with thunderous and electrifying force.

"Shit," Anko cursed as she leapt off of Manda's head as the electricity coursed through his mighty body. It was a long way down but she cushioned her fall with chakra. She looked up to see how Manda was faring and was glad to see the wounded serpent hiss with rage and launch itself at Darui.

Darui used a shunshin to dodge out of the way. Manda slammed into the ground where he had been standing creating a crater of destruction. The other Kumo shinobi threw kunai and launched Raiton jutsu at the formidable serpent but none did as much damage as Darui's initial blast.

Meanwhile Iruka took a moment to use **Suiton: Suiben** (Water Release: Water Whip) and wielded two of the thin streams of water in his hands. The water whips were able to cause lacerations but did not penetrate too deeply into the skin. They did move fast and Iruka expertly used one to slash a Kumo jonin's eyes before they could even blink, thoroughly blinding him.

Iruka allowed his jutsu to flex over 20 feet long laying into the Kumo shinobi who had foolishly taken their eyes off of him in order to find a way to get past Manda's nearly impenetrable scales.

Darui created a Raiton clone and both he and his clone used **Raiton: Kuropansa** (Lightning Release: Black Panther). Both lightning made panthers raced up Manda's body and spent their energy near his head seeking to jolt his brain. Manda let out another hiss of pain. His nerves twitched and his movements grew erratic.

Anko cursed again. Who would have thought that even the great snake Manda would have met its match against Darui? He wasn't out of the fight yet but Darui moved with a seamless grace that managed to avoid the powerful summon easily. Anko let out two sharp whistles that signaled the retreat, they would use Manda as cover to get away.

The remaining ANBU created clones to try to cause more confusion in the area and then darted away. Anko joined Iruka and only six other ANBU as they fled the whirling battle. Iruka looked at the ANBU squad that served under Komodo, "Where is your squad leader?"

"Komodo told us he wasn't coming back."

Anko felt a tendril of guilt fill her. Komodo was an ANBU who had served in two shinobi world wars; he had lived in ANBU service longer than any other. His Katon jutsu rivaled that of almost any Sarutobi or Uchiha. She hadn't liked his lip from earlier but he had spoken true. And now he was going to die because Anko had tried to delay the enemy.

'Give them hell Komodo.'

Darui saw Mitarashi break off from the battle but he had to keep his focus on the angry summon attempting to crush him. While he made it look easy, in reality he was moving at his maximum speed and barely able to keep ahead of its devastating attacks.

"I'll crush you!" Manda's cries grew louder as he grew more and more enraged at the speck that was harming his body.

Darui leapt clear of the attack only to narrowly avoid a stream of fireballs that were racing toward him. His katana radiated Raiton chakra and it collided with one of the fireballs he was unable to dodge. Searing heat gave him light burns but no other damage.

Manda continued his pursuit and so he decided to run straight at the fire breathing ANBU operative. Komodo saw his plan and flung open a storage seal that splashed oil in a fountain over the area. He lit the oil as Darui came near and a fiery wave of death intercepted the S class shinobi's path.

Komodo's eyes bulged behind his ANBU mask as the Raiton clone explode with electric energy.

'When did he exchange himself with a clone?' The veteran ANBU had no time to think as Manda's massive body nearly slithered over him. Komodo felt a blade pierce into his back as he dodged away from the snake. The blade left his body and he coughed up blood.

It had missed his heart but it had hit his lung. Blood ran down his uniform and he gathered the last of his chakra together.

**Katon: Ame Kasai **(Fire Release: Rain Fire) was the final jutsu Komodo unleashed. A massive fire ball erupted from his mouth and launched into the sky. From there it exploded and a literal rain of fire covered the area. Shinobi hit by the fire took severe burns. Darui used his katana to whip the fiery rain away from him. Manda's thick scales were scorched but undamaged by the rain.

Darui saw most of the men he had brought with him were wounded to one degree or another and several were dead. These were primarily jonin they could ill afford to lose. And Manda was not yet defeated. But the snake had been wounded and now Darui pumped even more chakra into his Kekkai Genkai.

**"Ranton: Reiza Sakasu" **(Storm Release: Laser Circus). The powerful waves of destructive energy poured straight onto the charging snakes head. Manda screamed in agony as he lost full control of his body twitching like a fish out of water. Darui finished his jutsu and eyed the twitching snake. Adroitly avoiding the chaotic spasms he brought stabbed his katana down and through the eye of the snake. Manda desperately tried to end the summoning and return to his home but his own body and chakra refused to obey his mental commands.

Still not dead Darui drove the blade into the other eye, fully blinding the great snake.

"Die already," the normally unflappable shinobi demanded.

The snake's brain was too far away from the eyes due to its size so Darui had to run up is head even further and then infuse his blade with Raiton energy and drive it down through the scales. The massive serpent twitched again and Darui was thrown off. He flipped back onto the ground and dashed up the still twitching snake. After getting in position he trust down and into the brain once, twice, thrice and four times before the monster finally gave up its life.

He wearily dropped back to the ground and took stock of his forces. They were battered; some of the best jonin he had rounded up had fought a furious fight. They were in no condition to pursue despite the fact that their quarry was probably equally as damaged. Darui was quite low on chakra himself. He ordered his squads to take a breather. They didn't have to wait long until Fuyu and a score of shinobi arrived.

Fuyu immediately demanded to know where the enemy was.

"Sorry Fuyu they've been gone for several minutes. They have been badly damaged and their ability to interfere with our march has ended. Return to clearing the traps and the way to Konoha is assured."

Fuyu grimaced, "Lord Darui I most insist you give me leave to hunt down Mitarashi. She has dogged our travel and is responsible for the deaths of countless shinobi, and that isn't even the worst of her crimes!"

Darui narrowed his eyes, "This is personal for you. Why?"

Fuyu looked away. "I am just ensuring a beaten enemy won't recover and plague us again."

Darui, "Uh huh. It will be dark soon and a headlong pursuit against them is foolhardy. They don't have the numbers or the chakra left to stop the march. Your only mission is to ensure our main force arrives in Konoha as quickly and as safely as possible. Go do your duty."

Fuyu ground her teeth with frustration but she would obey the Raikage's right hand. It galled her to let Mitarashi escape.

Darui's keen intellect and perception had discovered the truth. For Fuyu it was personal. Her brother had been captured by Konoha shinobi a few years back. Yes he had been spying on the leaf village but what was done to him at the hands of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation department was sickening. Today she would obey orders but she swore that one day Anko would die painfully under her blades.

*****BREAK*****

Samui couldn't believe this was happening. Her army of 1,500 shinobi and 4,000 of the Lightning Daimyo's army had entered Hi no Kuni initially with little resistance. The border forts had been crushed utterly. Granted they had caused some casualties along the way, Konoha seemed to have created some nasty fuinjutsu traps that had taken their toll. However it hardly even made a dent in her forces.

Then in the pre dawn hours of their first night in Hi no Kuni disaster began to unfold. It started with assassins striking at the weak link of the army, the non-shinobi portion. Dozens had died in their sleep before anyone even realized that an attack had taken place.

But that was just the start. That morning after breakfast her men started puking blood and they quickly learned the food stores had been compromised. The poison was treatable but it put hundreds of shinobi out of commission. Samui knew that the poison hadn't been stronger in order to infect more shinobi. If the poison had been stronger the first few would be falling over dead quick and then everyone would have stopped eating. By using a weaker poison the Konoha agents had managed to cripple almost a 4th of the shinobi for days.

Of course a quick investigation took place to determine how this happened. Samui had thought themselves lucky when they managed to find the culprit so quickly. He confessed but refused to give accomplices. Samui authorized more forceful interrogation, and soon the man was singing like a bird. That broadened their search and soon interrogations were taking place on several chunin.

But her interrogators informed her that either the spies were jonin level experts in infiltration and torture resistance or they had been duped by the original. Worse yet was that some of the freshly tortured individuals had familial ties with the Lightning Daimyo. The political ramifications were a headache as the commander of the Daimyo soldiers demanded to be part of any interrogations in the future.

And then competing accusations from two rival clans stating being hurled and Samui had to personally ensure no fighting would break out. Their travel had slowed to a crawl because of this giving the defenders of Hi no Kuni more time to prepare.

As the day lingered more shinobi were turning up dead. Samui did not think there could possibly be that many traitors within the camp. Not even Kakashi Hatake could do this much damage and avoid detection. By coldly looking at all of the facts Samui realized that those with petty grudges were taking advantage of the confusion to seek revenge for their grievances. Fingers were pointed, more suspicion fell on others. While she tried to take control of the situation one of her jonin lead 10 squads to scout south of their line of march. The jonin and the chunin squads were never heard from again, no doubt the hapless chunin had been led into an ambush.

Samui consulted Omoi and Karui but neither were much of a help. Karui demanded examples be made of those suspected of warring on each other or of being traitors. The idea of executing potentially innocent shinobi galled Samui and she refused to heed that advice. Omoi didn't even give advice; instead he talked about all of the different ways the attack could fail. Sighing in frustration at her teammates she tried to create effective counter measures.

Using her best judgment she put into place controls over food and medical supplies and shuffled unit formations. Chunin she had known all her life were tasked with overseeing potential traitors and any Kumo and Kumo conflict was forbidden, in all of those instances she herself would be contacted to review the situation. The final step was to orient her army on the enemy and to do that she ordered more speed. If they could come to grips with the enemy the loyal but contentious Kumo shinobi would cease their infighting and once battle was joined the traitors would likely reveal themselves in order to help hold their capitol.

Plans made, Samui sent a message off to the Raikage explaining the situation. The Raikage would not be pleased but she had done all that she could.

**AN: **I had originally planned another character dying but I couldn't bring myself to do it! Manda was difficult for me to write because the power levels of a summon seem to vary greatly throughout the anime. At one point a chief summon could hold its own against a biju. And in another three massive summons get swatted away like flies. I hope I did him justice while at the same time showcasing that Darui is in fact a badass.

On a side note – what were your favorite battles in this fan fic so far? I'm curious to see what the high points were for you guys so I can write similar battles like that. And finally would someone like to be a Beta? I HATE editing. Most annoying part of writing IMO. I know I've missed quite a few things but right now I just don't have the patience to go back and fix them when I could be writing the next chapter!


	47. Chapter 46: Invasion Part II

**AN: **Some team seven in this chapter! Some of the information is redundant; however I wanted to paint the picture of the coming battle as clearly as I could. Special thanks to GJMEGA for providing beta support for this chapter!

Update 10/19 - My beta will be working with me to update terms with the correct symbols. IE instead of jonin we have jōnin. We'll be looking to update the entire story and I'll also try to be more consistent with what is capitalized.

**Chapter 46: **Invasion Part II

In the end it would have been far too risky to keep Han alive in the middle of a war. Kakashi made his decision and ended Han; the bijuu would not be back for at least another two years. By that time one way or another, the war should be over.

Much to Kakashi's relief shortly after he had executed Han word arrived that Naruto and Sasuke were injured but alive. Itachi on the other hand was dead. Kakashi had faith in his team but against someone like Itachi his faith had been tested.

Not all the news was good. Fuu, the jinchuuriki of Takigakure, had been captured by Kisame. Iwagakure's invasion had been stymied but Konoha hadn't been able to finish off the enemy due to Kisame and Itachi. For now their ally was safe and very grateful, but long term Iwa was far from defeated. The invasion had been sizeable but they still had thousands of more shinobi to call upon. The quality would be lacking but they were still a threat. Kakashi hoped Sunagakure stayed true to their alliance so that his village could fully deal with the threat of Kumo.

"Naruto, Sasuke I'm proud of you both. Naruto, ensure the toads know the full situation here. In the morning Jiraiya will summon a toad like normal and we'll await orders."

"Hai Kakashi-sensei," Naruto replied.

It was possible, perhaps even likely that Inoichi would initiate mental correspondence again but Kakashi always liked to plan for the worst. Jiraiya would need to know what happened here.

Kakashi knew that Naruto's leg wound would heal by morning. The rapid regeneration of a jinchuuriki was impressive. Sasuke however would be down for several days. Chakra exhaustion was not something you could recover from lightly. He was deeply curious about the information Itachi had shared. He knew Sharingan eyes could be transplanted since he had Obito's gift, but the knowledge that a transplanted eye could give greater power to an existing Sharingan wielder was intriguing. He knew his eye would eventually grow weaker and possibly make him go blind. Well at least in that eye. Could one of Itachi's eyes fix that problem? It felt… wrong to take someone else's body part without it being gifted but Kakashi was nothing if not pragmatic.

Then again would the weakness of the Uchiha eyes eventually affect Sasuke? If so Sasuke had more of a right to the eyes then he did.

As for Kakashi himself, he was dangerously low on reserves though not quite as bad as Sasuke. Sakura was probably the healthiest of them as she had not suffered chakra exhaustion or serious wounds. Her efficient genjutsu used little chakra and her fuinjutsu even less since most of the chakra used in those seals had already been expended in the making of the seals, not in the triggering of them. That was really the true beauty of the seals since she could have Naruto make most of the simpler ones while she focused on the complex matrices.

Shikamaru, Ino and Chōji were also going to be OK but their wounds would prevent them from assisting Konoha for some time. The only other name of any note was Hana Inuzuka, who had proven to be more than deserving of the title of clan head. While Hana wasn't quite the powerhouse her mother was in close combat she also had medical jutsu that was nearly on par with Shizune. Her medical abilities, superior senses, her four legged allies and her immense taijutsu skills made her one powerful jōnin.

For now Kakashi could do little more than rest and try to recuperate as much as he could. Konoha had many strong shinobi defending it but it was likely that the Raikage himself would lead the assault.

*****BREAK*****

Dawn arrived and the Raikage set out with his army. The scouting cadre under Fuyu had finished clearing the vast majority of the traps and the way to the Village Hidden in the Leaves was clear. Their march would allow them to arrive a couple of hours before dusk. The Raikage did not intend to give them another night to prepare.

The Raikage gathered his war council as they marched. Darui, his strong right arm, was there as well as his bodyguard C. Fuyu was recalled to participate and provide her insights. Samui's brother Atsui, who was one of Kumo's rare Katon users, was also present along with another three jōnin. The last individual was the Tsuchikage, who was eager to come to grips with Konoha.

Darui spoke first, "Lord Raikage I know your intention was to strike head on. While this could still work, it is what they will be expecting."

The leader of Kumo growled, "What do you suggest?"

"Our spearhead, the frontal attack on the gate of Konoha should include a Raiton clone of you. Let Atsui lead the vanguard. His Katon jutsu can do damage to any forces they have massed there."

Darui gestured to Ōnoki, "Allow Ōnoki-san to assault on the right flank with a strong core of experienced chūnin and jōnin. His **Jinton** (Dust Release) will annihilate the walls on that side. To the left of our vanguard you should strike. Create an opening and have C and Fuyu breach the walls with you. If you run into serious opposition pull back as you are too valuable to die in battle."

"I will not run from Konoha shinobi!"

"Think of it as a tactical repositioning."

The Raikage stared fiercely at Darui. "And then what? If I am forced to retreat whoever was strong enough to force that would massacre my shinobi."

Darui stared back without showing a hint of nerves. "Hai, but the damage will have been done. The wall will have been breached and our superior numbers will play in our favor. We have more chūnin and jōnin, the only advantage they have is more S class ranked shinobi and their defensive position. If we can tire those shinobi out while maintaining our numerical superiority we will win."

The Raikage was not pleased with the tactical advice. In the silence Fuyu added her piece, "Why are we not surrounding Konoha completely?"

The master of the Storm Release addressed her question, "So that we give them a path of retreat. A wounded beast is most dangerous when cornered. They will not retreat without cause but if they do the war is as good as won. Their base of operations, their economy and their reputation will be in tatters. They will likely bring civilians with them and those will be an anchor around their necks. If we corner them completely we could finish the bulk of their forces here but our own army will be decimated as well."

Atsui frowned, "We have the Tsuchikage and the Raikage with us. We outnumber them. Letting them escape would be foolish."

Ōnoki voiced his agreement along with Atsui and Fuyu. He wanted the village to be wiped off of the map with all of her people inside of it.

The Raikage raised his hand and all became silent. "Darui you are my right hand. I disagree with your proposal." All except Darui smiled while Darui kept his face expressionless.

"But strategy has never been my greatest strength. You have organized this army. You have trained my shinobi and you have made Kumo the strongest military of all of the hidden villages. I trust you. We will follow your battle plan."

Stunned silence filled the morning air. Darui bowed, "I am honored."

The plan was made and the individual actors were given their orders. None save those present knew all the details in case there was a spy within the army. Darui was pleased with the Raikage's trust. The plan he had come up with would best utilize the resources they had. On paper the numbers favored those advising the Raikage who thought Kumo would win a crushing victory. But Darui was not so optimistic.

Yes Kumogakure had created an army of shinobi who individually were powerful chūnin and jōnin. In terms of raw numbers there were probably two or three times as many jonin with this force alone then in all of Konoha. But Konoha had two things that Darui feared. Flawless teamwork and the exceptional S class shinobi Konoha seemed so adept at breeding. A more pivotal fight for the fate of the elemental nations had not occurred since Namikaze Minato earned the moniker "Konoha's Yellow Flash."

*****BREAK*****

Neither Kakashi nor the rest of his Takigakure relief force had been contacted by Inoichi. Naruto instead summoned a toad and provided it with documents outlining the results of the battle. The chief news was the outcome and the death of Itachi. A detailed account of the ready status of the various shinobi under Kakashi's command was also provided.

Naruto waited an hour to summon the toad again. They had a long standing arrangement with Jiraiya to exchange messages via summoned toad. Sure enough Jiraiya had come through and had responded with a scroll of his own.

Kakashi read the scroll and frowned. Konoha was in a tight spot, the invaders would be hitting the outskirts of Konoha before dark. There was no way his team, even if they were all fit to fight, could make it to Konoha before dark. He relayed the information to his team. An exhausted Sasuke grimaced, Sakura had a worried frown and Naruto jumped up, "We have to do something Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi blandly replied, "What should we do Naruto?"

Naruto thought before he spoke, "If I run top speed I could probably make it. I'd have to tap into the Kyūbi's chakra but with it I could run at absolute maximum speed without resting."

Kakashi knew that shinobi could put a frightening amount of speed by expending chakra to enhance their speed. However doing it for hours and hours would subject even hardy shinobi to chakra exhaustion. That was true for everyone except a jinchuuriki who had a separate source of chakra to draw upon.

"But that would just be you Naruto. And while you are formidable our true strength lies with our teamwork," Kakashi responded.

"I can't do nothing, it's our home!"

Sakura looked at Naruto and then at her sensei. "Kakashi you're still low on chakra and Sasuke is still suffering from chakra exhaustion but I'm doing fine. Why don't I go with Naruto?"

Kakashi instantly saw what she had in mind but he asked the question anyway, "How will you do that Sakura? There is no way you could keep up with Naruto without falling into the same state that Sasuke is in."

"He can carry me."

Naruto paused for a moment before a smile began to form on his face.

Sakura glared at Naruto, "We are trying to save the village not indulge in your fantasies Naruto! Jiraiya-sama is a bad influence on you!"

Kakashi graced them with an amused eye smile.

"I dislike not being with you in a fight of this magnitude but you've all demonstrated your skill. Naruto and Sasuke, defeating Itachi is an incredible accomplishment. Sakura you stopped a **Bijudama** (Tailed Beast Ball), that's something few in history who don't hold the title of Kage have accomplished. I know you two will keep each other safe."

Naruto was ready to go and he wished Kakashi and Sasuke well. Sakura would be very light compared to the weights he had trained with but even so he better start moving if he wanted to reach Konoha in time. It was likely even with his speed and stamina the battle would already be underway, but a clash of thousands of shinobi would not be decided in minutes, it would take hours if not longer.

Naruto approached Sakura not quite sure how to pick her up. Sakura sighed and said, "Look Naruto our village is in trouble stop worrying about grabbing me the wrong way. This is a mission."

Naruto flushed slightly but did as Sakura asked. Naruto bent his legs and turned around with his arms behind him. Sakura moved forward and put her legs in Naruto's hands and put her arms across the upper part of Naruto's chest. As expected she was incredibly light. Naruto lifted her up and began sprinting back toward Konoha.

The way he was carrying her meant that his hands were grabbing the back half of her upper thighs. Naruto found this both enticing and awkward. He had never had prolonged close contact with Sakura. Her arms were crossed over his chest and her breasts were brushing his back.

"Baka focus on running and not on being a pervert!"

"It's not that easy Sakura-chan!"

Sakura grit her teeth and tried to ignore the obvious signs the human body gave off when it was in a state of arousal. However she soon stopped worrying about it. She had thought about it more after the disaster of a date with Sasuke. Why not get to know Naruto as more than just a teammate? He was kind, compassionate, determined and not bad to look at either. And he loved her.

As Naruto's blisteringly fast pace ate up miles of terrain Sakura smiled. She was in close contact with an attractive man. She decided to dwell on that enjoyable thought and the feel of Naruto's muscles. It was far more preferable than thinking about her family and friends back in Konoha fighting for their lives.

*****BREAK*****

Inoichi was drained. Only a few Yamanaka's could project their mind so far afield. It wasn't simply orienting on a familiar individual's thoughts either. It required the user to create an astral projection of themselves and travel to where the recipient was. Granted the astral projection could move at astounding speed but the faster it travelled the more chakra it burned.

Jiraiya had known this and so ordered Inoichi to limit the number of messages sent. Even with that restriction in place he was exhausted. The last message had been sent to Mitarashi Anko who had informed him that while they had inflicted some damage, the enemy's advance would not be slowed.

Inoichi gave Anko new orders. Her mission would be to rendezvous with any returning shinobi who had not made it back to Konoha ahead of the Kumogakure army. Once she had sufficient numbers she would try to intervene in the battle.

Inoichi staggered to his temporary cot. He would sleep and be woken up by Shikaku and Chōza when it was time for him to participate in the battle. The sun was shining outside but the instant that his eyes closed he fell into a deep sleep.

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi rested near Sasuke. He wanted to know what was on the boy's mind.

"How does it feel to have completed one of your life long goals?"

"Hnn, not as good as I had hoped."

"Oh?"

"I thought that killing him would make the pain of losing my father, mother and entire clan more bearable. In truth Itachi was the most painful loss on that terrible night. My brother had been the one I idolized even above my father."

Kakashi processed this and let silence fill the air.

"Vengeance doesn't change reality but it does provide closure. What will you do next?"

"If Konoha is still standing I'll start rebuilding my clan. I'll look for a strong kunoichi who would be content being a brood mare for the Uchiha clan. If I can't find an acceptable choice I'll settle for healthy civilians."

Kakashi chuckled, "Only you could make the idea of copulating with multiple women sound like a chore."

"Hnn."

Kakashi knew Sasuke was very goal oriented. He had been emotionally scarred by what Itachi had done. Killing Itachi hadn't erased the damage. Kakashi hoped for his student's sake that Sasuke would allow himself to enjoy life.

"Perhaps you need a hobby," Kakashi advised.

"I'm not reading those books sensei."

"I said you need to get _a_ hobby not that you should take up _my_ hobby."

"And the purpose of this would be?"

Kakashi looked at Sasuke scornfully, "I was in the ANBU black ops. We were required to take up hobbies as part of our mental wellness. And our team is in far more high strung situations than the average ANBU team."

"Hnn."

"Just look for something Sasuke. Right now you're stuck in a cot; think about some options and what you would find most tolerable. Experience them and see if something peaks your interest."

"Hai Kakashi-sensei, I have nothing better to do right now."

Hana Inuzuka came in at that point to check on Sasuke.

"You're recovering well for the level of chakra exhaustion you've experienced. Normally a jōnin level shinobi could take as much as a week or more to recover but in your case it looks like it will take half as long."

"I'm a Uchiha," Sasuke simply explained.

Hana turned to Kakashi and asked, "I know Naruto and Sakura went back to Konoha, shouldn't we be headed back there as well?"

Kakashi shook his head, "We'll wait to see how the battle there develops. We've been informed that Konoha wasn't the only target. Right now we are still too battered to move effectively without splitting our forces further. I'd rather stay together and strike hard where we need to as opposed to stringing ourselves out to be picked off by some of the smaller invasions taking place."

Hana understood Kakashi's reasoning but she worried about her clan. She was the clan head, she should be there leading her clan. Volunteering was the right thing to do at the time but if she had had foreknowledge of the invasion she would have stayed behind. Her clan needed her.

Kakashi read her easily, "I know you are worried but have faith in Jiraiya-sama."

The Inuzuka clan head couldn't disagree with that and left the two team seven members to care for her other injured comrades.

*****BREAK*****

Danzō was pleased with his success. The combination of Fu's **Shinten Kugutsu Juin no Jutsu** (Mind Puppet Switch Cursed Seal Technique) and his own Kotoamatsukami had allowed havoc to reign in the Kumo camp. The oncoming Kumo army had been badly damaged with hundreds of shinobi injured or dead as well as twice that number of normal soldiers. The enemy commander's actions were mitigating some of the damage. Their counter measures weren't very successful except for one – the order to move faster. Given more time the damage and death would continue to mount but with them moving as quickly as they could he had but one more day to wreak havoc. That meant Danzō would be unable to use Shisui's eye again before they arrived.

Danzō wished for more time but that wasn't going to be an option. And so he had ordered General Maki to confiscate any oil that could be found in the city. Danzō had been quite aware of the new ideas Sakura and Kakashi had and decided to adapt one particularly delightful plan they had opted not to use.

The oil with the aid of Doton jutsu would be forced underneath the ground around various parts of the city. When the time was right it would be lit on fire turning the area into a fiery death trap. Shinobi were resourceful and could probably avoid the flames but the soldiers would not be lucky. And when Danzō used his own Futon jutsu to fan the flames most shinobi would be seriously injured or even killed. Of course the unskilled soldiers the good general had rounded up would be placed over those oil fields so that the invaders would not suspect a trap. Danzō could not think of a better use for the incompetent men, even 50 of them probably couldn't take on a single chūnin.

The damage to the city would be immense; however any price could be paid to ensure victory. Danzō was also confident in his ability to kill the enemy general. Samui was a skill jōnin and deserved her A rank bingo book rating. But Danzō had knowledge of her abilities while she would be fighting blind. Added to that, he had multiple uses of Izanagi at his disposal which would require his opponent to hit him with multiple killing blows.

The enemy had suffered infighting, assassinations, poisoning and diminished morale. Their leader dying would cement their defeat and scatter the attacking army to the winds.

*****BREAK*****

Jiraiya stood atop the central gates that faced toward the Kumogakure army. The Raikage was known for his devastating frontal assaults and so he had gathered two kill teams at this very spot. With him were his personal guards, Yugao, Genma and Hiashi Hyūga who had been drafted for this battle. Hiashi was extremely skilled in taijutsu and his clan's fighting style. In close quarters there were few who could match him though the Raikage was definitely one of them. Genma and Yugao were solid jonin and skilled in their own unique ways however their task would be to take care of any of the Raikage's personal guards as opposed to facing the Raikage himself.

Next to them was the 2nd kill team. Technically it was Gai's team but Gai had relinquished command to Tsunade. The two of them had incredible striking power and durability. With them was Asuma, one of the top of Futon users of Konoha. Rounding out the team was Neji Hyūga who was an incredible prodigy in his own right and was almost at the level of Hiashi.

Jiraiya had Lord Fukasaku and Shima, the two great sage toads, with him as well. They were fused to his shoulders and Lord Fukasaku took the time to speak, "Jiraiya boy tell us about this Raikage and why you fear him so much?"

"Who said I fear him?"

Shima clucked her tongue, "You brought us here and have surrounded yourself with your village's best."

Jiraiya grumbled about being the Hokage and how he should be respected.

"We're still waiting," Shima nagged.

"He's fast. Almost as fast as Minato, he's faster than me even in sage mode. He's also strong and utterly ruthless in combat. He'll hit as hard as Tsunade-hime and with incredible speed. He surrounds himself with Raiton armor which gives him durability and defense that is nearly impossible to breach. I've never tried a Rasengan against it but I know it won't be enough."

"Hmm," Pa intoned, "Surely he has a weakness."

Jiraiya gave a small shrug, "Asuma's chakra blades filled with Futon charged chakra will be our best bet. Taking advantage of Futon's natural ability to counter Raiton should allow the blades to pierce through. And while the Lightning Armor is nearly indestructible each blow that we land on him will cost him chakra. He can be exhausted just like any other man." He motioned to Gai and Tsunade, "The stronger the blow the more chakra is lost."

Neji entered the conversation, "Our third kill team also has an alternative method that could work as well. If Shikaku can trap him in shadows for a fraction of a second then Inoichi can invade his mind. If successful he could force him to drop his lightning armor and then he will be vulnerable."

Jiraiya had given it some thought on whether to activate the Ino-Shika-Cho team. Letting the genius Nara be in charge of the defense during the battle was tempting. Paring him with Inoichi's ability to deliver messages through telepathy would give them unparallel ability to coordinate the battlefield. However keeping such a powerful and flexible team in a support role would also be a waste of resources.

He had decided to keep the third kill team in reserve for the initial stage of the battle. Probably in the opening minutes they would be deployed to the best location. Shikaku would be able to use his mind in the first stages and then he would turn over the reins to Morino Ibiki the head of the Konoha Intelligence Division. While not having the raw intelligence of a Nara he was used to gathering information and quickly understanding it.

Shima asked, "What about other threats? What else does Kumo have?"

Hiashi replied, "They have many more jōnin level shinobi then we do. Many of them are kenjutsu and ninjutsu based specialists. They only have two other S ranked shinobi. One is their jinchuuriki Killer B and the other is Darui of the storm release."

The group discussed the capabilities of each and brought the two toads up to speed. They also outlined a bit more of Konoha's defense.

They had mixed the large Hyūga clan evenly throughout the village. The Aburame clan was concentrated on the right flank alongside the Akimichi clan. The left flank held the powerful Katon ninjutsu specialists of the Sarutobi clan as well as a hodgepodge of smaller clans and shinobi from civilian families.

The Inuzuka clan was part of the mobile reserve. The tunnels underneath Konoha that had been used by ROOT were filled with ANBU and Inuzuka ready to pounce at the best possible opportunity. The civilians had been evacuated to the shelters. The genin were given kunai scrolls and placed near the civilians. A few of the more experience genin were tasked with carrying wounded, providing supplies to areas if necessary and would also be used as couriers.

As of yet Kumo had not tried to completely encircle Konoha and so a large group of chūnin with a number of sensory types were tasked in the rear of Konoha (in relation to the Kumo army). Kunai were sharpened, soldier pills were distributed to everyone and trapped areas were memorized by all of the shinobi. Sakura's dispersal seals had been attached to the wall around Konoha and to other buildings making them extremely hardy. Those seals would take a concentrated blow and disperse it into a wide area taking deadly attacks and reducing them to mere pressure. Hardening seals and resistant seals were also attached to important areas.

Kumogakure had come to destroy their home and Konoha was ready. Their village had both Sannin back. It was arrayed with the best seals and traps that were available. It had strong teams of shinobi who knew their duty. Konoha was ready for war.

**AN: **All right the buildup is done! The shit is officially going to hit the fan in the next chapter. And yes… people are going to start dying. Hold on to your tears because it will probably get worse before it gets better!


	48. Chapter 47: Invasion Part III

**AN: **Had a few of you ask why they didn't just reverse summon Naruto back. The way it works in this world is that you can only be reverse summoned to the summoned animal's home. IE Naruto can be reverse summoned to Mount Myoboku and then sent back to the exact spot from where he was summoned from but nowhere else.

Also special thanks to GJMEGA for his Beta work!

**Chapter 47:** Invasion Part III

Every shinobi the Raikage brought with him knew their role in the upcoming battle. The Raikage had created a Raiton clone and stationed him next to Atsui at the head of their army. He was actually positioned on the left side of the army several ranks behind the first wave of shinobi. Darui had not wanted a strong sensor to be able to detect a second Raikage's signature.

The Kumo line moved forward and started the attack by launching kunai with explosive tags attached at the ground and at the walls of Konoha. The goal was to trigger any traps the wily Konoha shinobi may have placed. At the same time Konoha responded with a barrage of kunai released from their accursed fuinjutsu scrolls.

They were anticipating that and those with abilities in Futon or Doton blew kunai away or brought up earthen walls to protect their comrades. Since those abilities were rarer in Kumo they didn't have full coverage. Those squads without a Futon or Doton expert relied on skilled jōnin to protect their comrades by deflecting the kunai with their own blades. Even with all the preparations some kunai still caused injuries and a few deaths with their massive barrage.

It was time for the Raikage to act. He blitzed forward encasing himself with Raiton armor and rushed past his shinobi. C and Fuyu trailed behind him at a slower pace. The Raikage slammed into the wall with every expectation of smashing right through it and creating an opening for his shinobi to pour through. Instead when he slammed into the walls of Konoha Sakura's dispersal seal activated and distributed the impact throughout the length of the wall. It groaned in protest but not even a crack manifested.

The Raikage stepped back from the unexpected failure to break through. Not one to be deterred he jumped onto the wall and using his chakra he raced up it. Konoha was ready for the Kumo shinobi to attempt this and had placed a variety of other seals on the wall.

The first seal was another storage seal that carried flammable oil that was manually triggered by the defenders. Oil sprayed out and covered the wall. While the Raikage raced up so did other Kumo chūnin and jōnin. The Raikage reached the top of the wall first and brutally crashed into a large Akimichi killing him instantly.

The Kumo shinobi still climbing the wall watched in horror as Konoha lit the oil covered wall on fire. Instantly the oil ignited and burned the climbing shinobi. A few made it past the fiery conflagration with burns and they were met with more of the Akimichi clan in close quarters knocking most of them back down to the ground. Those that didn't make it past were burned to death or hastily dropped down to get away from the heat. To add salt to the wound, the wall itself was not burning, just the oil. A second sealing array had been placed on the wall that made it flame retardant.

Konoha wasn't done yet. Poisonous smoke bombs were launched and landed in the midst of the chaos below the Konoha walls. Some shinobi were retreating from the flames while others were still trying to charge up the wall, braving the fire and seeking to support their leader. In that chaotic mill of shinobi the deadly gas rose up adding to the confusion and laying several shinobi low before they could get away.

But the Raikage was up on the wall and he blitzed through the defenders. The Aburame clan unleashed swarms of kikaichu to try to drain his chakra. However he simply moved too fast for them to even attempt to latch on. The Raikage quickly spotted Shibi Aburame and poured on the speed and used **Rariatto** (Lariat) on the head of the Aburame clan.

Shibi was skilled and had used one of his favorite tricks of planting explosive seals underneath the ground with his insect allies. He only had a fraction of a second to detonate them and the explosion discharged right underneath the Raikage's feet. The explosion did little damage thanks to the **Raiton no Yoroi** (Lightning Release Armor). It did however alter his charge slightly and so instead of the Lariat instantly killing Shibi it only slammed into his shoulder shattering the arm socket and fracturing the collar bone.

An Akimichi used **Bubun Baika no Jutsu** (Partial Multi-Size Technique) to grow his arm and hand and try to flatten the Raikage. The leader of Kumo was far too swift. The attack was easily dodged and then the tables were turned. The Raikage initiated another Lariat that pulped the Akimichi. Shibi was wracked with pain but managed to create a **Mushi Bunshin no Jutsu** (Insect Clone). The insects carried sulfuric acid with them on the hollow inside of the clone; Shibi hoped that when their deadly S class opponent struck down the clone the acid would melt the armor.

It was not to be. The Raikage did indeed smash the clone but the acid was ineffective. Three Hyūga branch members rushed him at once using their **Juken** (Gentle Fist) style of chakra closing attacks. In less than a second their corpses were thrown back and their bodies demolished. Shibi only had a fraction of a second to try to frantically think of some other stratagem to stop this seemingly unstoppable assault before the Raikage's fist crashed into his head and ended the life of the Aburame clan head.

*****BREAK*****

Ōnoki was ready for his long awaited vengeance. The Yellow Flash had broken him during the third shinobi war and he would now at long last have his revenge. Iwa had been destined for greatness. They were winning the war; their place in history was assured until Minato crippled them.

The battle on the right flank was quite different than the one on the left. Ōnoki masked himself with **Meisaigakure no Jutsu** (Hiding with Camouflage Technique) and flew high above the battle field. Light would reflect around his body making him almost invisible to all but the most perceptive shinobi. This being an Iwa technique and him being in the air made it very unlikely that a Konoha shinobi would think to be on the lookout for something like that.

But they would detect the massive surge of chakra as it built up. The first two seconds caused confusion and alarm and then after that it was too late. With great relish Ōnoki released a massive rectangular prism from his hands. A 40 foot section of the wall, all of the seals in that section and all of the Konoha defenders were incased in white light and then it all disappeared. He had used **Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu** (Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu) and it had instantly killed dozens of shinobi and created a huge gap in the Konoha defense that was swiftly exploited by the Kumo nin he had allied himself with.

Ōnoki wasn't done. While the chakra required to use the kekkei tōta was immense there was a reason that Ōnoki had risen to the rank of Kage, he had chakra to burn. The leaf shinobi knew he was there and kunai and Katon jutsu from the Sarutobi clan raced upward toward him. It took little effort to simply fly above the kunai and avoid the Katon jutsu. Soon the Konoha defenders had to focus on fighting the Kumo shinobi and the Tsuchikage flew deeper into Konohagakure.

*****BREAK*****

Jiraiya had been ready for the assault. Moments before he quizzically looked to the sky and asked, "Does Kumo have any shinobi that have learned how to fly?"

His companions shook their heads. The Hokage stretched out his senjutsu senses and realized the chakra source was massive.

"Radio Inoichi and Ibiki that Ōnoki is attacking to our left."

Asuma's cigarette dropped from his mouth. They had to deal with the Raikage _and_ the Tsuchikage?

Speaking of the Raikage he spotted him signal the charge and Kumo shinobi launched kunai with explosive tags at the gate, the walls and the ground. The attack triggered some of Konoha's traps but not all of them.

Jiraiya gave the signal and Konoha retaliated by opening their kunai scrolls spraying death into the Kumo ranks. As was expected Kumo took counter measures. Kumo charged forward and attempted to climb the walls and the gate. As the Kumo nin on Konoha's right flank had experienced the wall was lit on fire and many were burned or were sent to their deaths. Oddly enough the Raikage was hanging back and had yet to engage.

Tsunade asked, "Should one of our teams go after Ōnoki?"

The toad sage shook his head, "We've passed along the message to Inoichi, we'll wait for him to relay Shikaku's tactical advice."

The Kumo shinobi were wary of approaching the flaming wall and had settled into a mid-range duel of ninjutsu. Azure blasts of Raiton energy struck out at the defenders while Konoha retailed with kunai, Katon jutsu and poisonous gas.

"Something isn't right," Hiashi advised. "The Raikage isn't doing anything and Kumo is being very cautious. It's almost as if the real attack isn't here."

Jiraiya frowned as an unexpected Katon attack from the Kumo line killed a surprised chūnin on the wall. Hiashi was right. Something was off. To the left in the distance he could see the massive hole in the wall that Ōnoki's **Jinton** (Dust Release) had caused. As he was considering these implications Inoichi's voice filled his mind.

"Shikaku suggests Jiraiya take his team and secure the right flank. The Raikage has broken through there and is inflicting heavy casualties. Tsunade's team should head left and try to plug the gap. We'll move reserves to the central gate. We will deal with the Tsuchikage; Ibiki is taking control of the tactical situation."

The Hokage replied, "Understood, be careful the old man isn't a light weight, he's got just as much chakra as the Raikage."

The telepathic orders had gone to the team leads and Jiraiya signal Genma, Yugao and Hiashi to follow him.

"The Raikage out there is a clone; we need to deal with the real one."

The four of them sprinted toward the right side of the village knowing that every second they delayed probably meant another Konoha shinobi dead at the hands of Kumogakure's leader.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto and Sakura were making good time. They had no idea when the attack would take place other than that it would be before dusk. They were in Hi no Kuni and were nearing the village. It would be close but they would make it before dusk. An hour before they would reach the village Sakura asked him to stop.

"What is it Sakura-chan we need to hurry!"

"I know but you should create some clones and have them wait here and gather the nature chakra you need for your senjutsu."

Naruto blinked and rubbed the back of his head, "Oh yeah good idea!"

After he made two clones he picked Sakura back up and they raced toward home.

*****BREAK*****

Anko wasn't at 100% after her fight with Darui and gulping down more than one soldier pill but she could still fight. The problem was that her orders were to collect the other shinobi returning to Konoha that had been on missions when news of the invasion arrived. And right now they had not encountered many returning shinobi.

Hayse and his team of chūnin were the first to arrive. Anko wasn't impressed with Hayse. He was one of the chūnin that was planted in the first round of the chūnin exam testing. She didn't have anything against him personally but he often volunteered for non dangerous assignments which meant she questioned his abilities.

Two more teams arrived. One was another squad of chūnin and then one jōnin and his three genin. Anko had been hoping for far more. To make matters worse she was in sight of Konoha and could see smoke rising. Battle was joined and she was sitting on her hands while her comrades were fighting.

Iruka saw her frustration and he said, "We'll move out soon. I'm pushing my senses out as far as they can go but if I don't sense anyone in the next 30 minutes we should move out with what we have.

Anko gave a barely perceptible nod and continued staring out at Konoha.

*****BREAK*****

The Hokage and his team arrived at the scene of a massacre. Hyūga, Akimichi and Aburame corpses littered the ground. Without defenders the Kumo shinobi had streamed over the wall and were pressing into the heart of Konoha.

Jiraiya could sense the Raikage was near thanks to his enhanced senjutsu senses. In a flash the Raikage had charged him and only the combination of his heightened senses and S class worthy reflexes allowed him time to put up his arms to block the Lariat that threatened to take off his head.

The Raikage was moving at full speed and with absolute power. The Lariat crashed into Jiraiya's arms and bruised them heavily. The toad sage was knocked off his feet and smashed into a nearby building.

Hiashi darted in with grace and speed. The enemy was within his field of divination. Of course the battle was proceeding at lightning speed, and already twenty **Juken **(Gentle Fist) strikes had been launched in the time it would have taken to announce that his opponent was in his field of divination. Unfortunately for the clan head his chakra laced strikes could not pierce the Lightning Armor. It did drain chakra and so Hiashi continued his assault.

The Raikage was surprised at the Hyūga attack. The man hadn't been in the field for years but was listed as an A ranked taijutsu specialist. The Raikage moved faster than the Hyūga and sent his fist careening toward Hiashi. Hiashi tilted his head to the side causing the blow to miss but the Raikage was too fast and nearly instantly arrested his fist's moment and sent it slamming sideways toward Hiashi's head. Hiashi had barely enough time to get his palm up but against the Raikage's power it just slammed into his hand and only slightly slowed down the blow.

Hiashi was also launched away from the Raikage though the damage to his body was greater than to Jiraiya's. Jiraiya was naturally tougher and stronger before even taking into account the senjutsu chakra flowing through him.

Yugao and Genma had followed instructions and engaged the other Kumo shinobi. Genma fired senbon with speed and accuracy while Yugao sped forward using her **Oborozukiyo** (Moonlit Night). It was incredibly hard to counter because her speed created an afterimage that confused her opponents. She had sliced down a pair of Kumo kenjutsu specialist in a matter of moments.

The Raikage turned to deal with Genma and Yugao when the Godaime Hokage came roaring back onto the battlefield. His arms were bruised but his ability to fight had not been damaged. While he charged at the Raikage Lord Fukasaku used **Zessenzan** (Fighting Tongue Slash). Pa had used his own senjutsu abilities to strike out with his tongue infused with natural chakra. It slashed with a speed that no eyes but the Sharingan could follow and could cut through stone.

The Raikage sensed the attack and showed why his speed was so feared. He dodged to the side and rushed in close. The earth of Konoha was sliced completely through by Pa's tongue. Jiraiya and the Raikage clashed with thunderous force. Their fists crashed into each other and the raw speed of the Raikage met with the raw power of **Kawazu** **Kumite** (Frog Kumite). The collision of the Kage's fists shattered windows hundreds of yards away and completely blew back any shinobi who happened to be nearby.

The Raikage felt a massive drain on his chakra as he was thrown back by the clash. Other than being rattled around a bit his physical body had not taken harm thanks to his **Raiton no Yoroi** (Lightning Release Armor). Jiraiya on the other hand had split his knuckles open from the force of the blow. But nonetheless he was the one standing while the Raikage had been the one blown backwards.

This caused an instant feeling of shock to flow over the Kumo shinobi which made them even easier prey to Genma and Yugao. Jiraiya didn't waste any time in capitalizing on this as well and let loose with **Hari Jigoku** (Needle Hell) into dozens of Kumo shinobi. His hair itself had become a weapon that slew with a speed even greater than Genma's senbon.

The Raikage, enraged by the death of his shinobi, stood up and roared. He was faster than Jiraiya he just had to avoid getting hit and the battle would be his. He flashed across the battlefield. Shima however knew something like that would happen and had already inhaled and prepared **Futon: Shinkugyoku** (Wind Release Vacuum Bullets). Even with his speed he couldn't close the distance before the wind powered bullets rippled through the air. Since Futon chakra was one of the few things that could breach his defense he dodged away from the stream of deadly bullets, his speed certainly fast enough to do so.

This gave time for the Hokage to form a massive Rasengan in his hand almost half the size of a human body. The Raikage darted past the Hokage avoiding the spiraling ball of death. He then dashed back toward him. The Hokage was slower than he was but his speed was still quite swift. Jiraiya spun on his heel and the ball slammed the Rasengan into the Raikage sending him flying backwards.

The Raikage felt the chakra drain away again but got to his feat ready for another assault. Then he remembered Darui's request. If he came across an opponent dangerous enough he was to retreat back and strike elsewhere. Though it galled him to do so, he had told Darui that he trusted in his plan. With great disgust he retreated back from the Hokage and over the wall back toward his own lines.

Jiraiya felt the Raikage leave and was surprised. As long as the man's chakra held up the Lightning Armor could likely not be pierced by anything that wasn't filled with wind chakra. Many shinobi thought the Rasengan was a Futon derived jutsu but that was not the case. With his senjutsu senses he know the Raikage still had plenty of chakra to keep going despite getting struck twice by powerful attacks.

Jiraiya took stock of the situation and expanded his senses. Roughly 120 Kumo shinobi had breached the wall and had gone past the wall area and deeper into the village. He hoped the Inuzuka and reserve forces could deal with them. He also knew that hundreds and hundreds of Kumo shinobi were now getting over the wall with impunity.

Jiraiya quickly did two things. First he summoned Gamabunta and requested he hold the line here. Secondly he found Hiashi who had a bruised shoulder, a broken finger and a severe concussion. If a medical nin could treat him he could fight again soon. He carefully picked Hiashi up and quickly delivered him to one of the reserve squads that were headed to his location to help breach the gap.

"Take him to one of the triage locations and get him to the front of the line quickly. Infiltrators have made it into Konoha, once he's up and fighting have him work with the Inuzuka teams and hunt them down."

"Hai Hokage-sama!"

*****BREAK*****

Fuyu and her scouts had made it up the wall after the Raikage had decimated the defenders. Instead of staying and helping they had pushed forward to wreck havoc behind the enemy lines. With them was C who was annoyed to be away from the Raikage's side.

Fuyu glared at him, "Did he look like he needed help? Now be quiet."

It didn't take long for them to sense an ambush and sure enough a pair of Inuzuka along with their ninken charged forward with **Gatsuga** (Fang over Fang). Fuyu slipped to the left of the attack and her blade slashed one of the ninken down. Its Inuzuka partner howled in fury and charged in but a taijutsu specialist versus a kenjutsu specialist could only end in one way unless there were hidden abilities or the taijutsu specialist was far beyond the kenjutsu specialist's abilities. Neither was the case and soon she had decapitated the fool.

Fuyu had been tempted to blame C for them being spotted but there were a pair of Hyūga with the ambush group. Their damned eyes could see through the actual buildings they had been using for cover. As an infiltration specialist what happened next amused her greatly.

C used his **Raigen** **Raikochu** (Lightning Illusion: Flash Pillar) to blind the two Hyūga who were swiftly dealt with as they clutched their eyes. The other Inuzuka managed to kill one of her shinobi before being taken down.

'Good thing they underestimated us.'

Fuyu knew it wouldn't be that easy moving forward. No doubt right at that moment another Hyūga was watching them from thousands of feet away relaying what had just happened. The next time they were attacked it would be by a much more dangerous force.

*****BREAK*****

Tenten had been only a few feet away from the Tsuchikage's attack. One moment she was standing next to a kind Sarutobi clan member, a distant cousin of Asuma, and the next the man was gone. Just gone.

Tenten didn't have time to mourn as the Kumo shinobi streamed into her village. Some of the Sarutobi clan attempted to strike down Ōnoki, however she knew it was hopeless. Being a ranged specialist herself she knew that ranged attacks fired into the air against someone like the Tsuchikage were futile. Their attention needed to be on the Kumo shinobi advancing in.

Tenten flung a brace of kunai with explosive tags attached to them at the advancing horde. It didn't do nearly as much damage as she had hoped. These weren't genin or soldiers these were chūnin and jōnin. The Kumo shinobi used shunshin to close with the Sarutobi clan before they could turn their deadly Katon jutsu on the enemy that wasn't in the sky.

Tenten grew sick to her stomach seeing them cut down and knew she had to do something.

"**Soshoryu Kyokkei" **(Ultimate Twin Rising Dragons)

Two fuinjutsu scrolls rose up in the air and disgorged every manner of weapon conceivable. Kunai, daggers, katanas, maces and senbon were just a few of the types of weapons. She had gone to Sakura to learn how to create larger sealing scrolls. Really nothing had changed except the sheer quantity of weapons that were being sent out. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds rained down on the Kumo shinobi.

Kenjutsu met ranged weapons and in most cases the art of the blade countered the thrown attacks. However one in 30 did cause damage which meant dozens of shinobi were injured and a few were killed. And Tenten wasn't done.

Every single one of those weapons had an explosive tag attached to them and Tenten detonated them all. Even weapons that had been successfully deflected now exploded and delivered death. Some of the metal Tenten had used was high quality but roughly half had been junk metal that now shattered under the explosion sending shrapnel in every direction.

She had inflicted horrific damage, far beyond what one would think that a chūnin would be capable of. But while the casualties were massive there were plenty more Kumo shinobi charging in. The weapons specialists knew that Kumo had the numerical advantage unless they threw civilians, genin and non combat shinobi at them.

The next several minutes passed in a blur as she went weapon to weapon against the Kumo shinobi. She took a kick to the head and a cut to her leg but she was still fighting when she met her match. Tenten was currently armed with a sword and her opponent had to be jōnin level. She backed up as his blade sought her head barely defending against every attack.

Her blade was a fraction of a second too slow against one follow through and instead of cleanly parrying the blow she didn't get to it in time and the blade chopped into her side. It wasn't a fatal wound but it was bleeding badly and now it was only a matter of time.

The Kumo jōnin launched another offensive and Tenten could barely follow the blade. Feinting twice he came on and Tenten was too focused on his blade and never saw his foot rise up and knock her own blade out of her hand and then double her over with a vicious kick to the stomach.

Tenten didn't have time to dodge as the blade swung down to end her life.

'This is it…'

But instead of death Tenten felt a forceful wind hit her in the face. When she looked up the Kumo shinobi was prone on the ground thirty feet away at an unnatural angle. A blinding grin that showed off her sensei's sparkling teeth was a sight she never would have thought she would be this thankful for. He gave her the thumbs up and then slammed into another Kumo shinobi.

Trailing after him was Tsunade-sama, Asuma and Neji. Neji paused and said, "Tsunade-sama she needs help."

Asuma seeing so many of his clan dead or injured charged after Gai with a furious expression on his face.

Tsunade bent down next to Tenten and quickly sealed the wound.

"Take a plasma pill and give yourself a few minutes. After that you'll be well enough to fight."

That was all Tsunade said before rushing after her team and rolling over the attacking Kumo shinobi taking them down like wheat before a scythe. Tenten was in awe at the sheer destructive power of Tsunade, Gai, Asuma and Neji. She had always respected Neji's power but since joining the rapid response squad his skill had increased tremendously. And Tsunade… it was an honor to see her fight. Her chakra infused punches shattered blades and bodies alike.

She rose to her feet and jumped back into the fray.

*****BREAK*****

Ōnoki had collapsed the wall for the invading Kumo forces but he wasn't done wreaking havoc. He could have remained with the Kumo shinobi and helped them slaughter the defenders but his **Jinton** (Dust Release) would then be in danger of hitting his allies. The Raikage wasn't a forgiving man and so he decided to take out other targets of opportunity within Konoha.

The first target was Konoha's hospital. It would likely be staffed with medical nin and used as a place to care for the wounded. By destroying it he would do significant damage and hurt morale. Knowing that you had skilled medical assistance on hand gave courage to shinobi. He was going to take that away.

Ōnoki flew closer. He could turn the entire multi story building into dust but that would tax his chakra considerably. Instead he chose to fly closer and strike at the ground floor. This would cause the entire structure to come crashing down.

As he descended he was spotted by a Hyūga who put everyone on alert. Not that it mattered. It was an easy enough matter to dodge a few kunai and then launch another **Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu** (Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu). His jutsu struck the first floor and turned it into dust killing patients, doctors and medical nin. The rest of the patients in the building also died as the hospital crashed to the ground.

Some of the shinobi and medical nin did survive by leaping out of the windows or using their chakra in some way to push away debris. One such shinobi was Shizune whose face was a mask of rage.

"This is unforgivable," she said in a voice reminiscent of her shishou.

Ōnoki knew he should move on to his next target but he couldn't help but taunt his hated enemy.

"No stupid girl, what was unforgivable was the Yellow Flash murdering my people!"

He still had his camouflage jutsu up but his voice allowed Shizune to know instantly where he was. He was about 20 feet off of the ground and Shizune dashed forward spitting poisoned senbon as she grew closer.

The senbon were tiny slivers of death, he figured they were poisoned and so instead of taking chances the Tsuchikage used **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) to scatter them away. He decided not to try to pin down the agile looking kunoichi with another sample of **Jinton** (Dust Release). It was wasteful on his chakra reserves and it could be hard to hit a moving target. The jutsu had the appearance of being nearly instantaneous but it actually took a couple of seconds of chakra buildup to function. The instantaneous belief came from no one ever seeing someone caught in it ever escaping. By the time an enemy saw the jutsu it was too late.

So instead he used **Doton: Goremu no Jutsu** (Earth Release: Earth Golem Technique) to create a golem from the ground near Shizune. Its massive hand attempted to grab the medical nin but she dodged away from it. Ōnoki laughed and created another. Shizune kicked out at one of them using chakra to make the blow more powerful but it only slightly cracked the golem.

She used Kawarimi to get clear and fired more poisoned senbon at the flying Kage. Annoyed at her persistence and unwilling to give her the satisfaction of having said that she forced back the Kage of Iwagakure he used "**Futon: Reppusho" **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) again and then followed it up with an immediate **Futon: Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). He had been through many wars and battles and his ability to manipulate any of the elements he had an affinity with was legendary.

Shizune was not expecting the powerful gust of wind so soon after one jutsu had ended. She was pressed flat against the earth and could do nothing as the earth golem hand slammed into her. It crushed bone and she barely hung onto consciousness. It grabbed her and held her in the air squeezing her and preventing any movement.

Ōnoki hovered near her. "Just so that you know child, my next target is your village's pathetic civilian shelters." With those final words the golem's fist closed and Shizune died.

Before the revenge maddened Ōnoki could continue the hunters had come for him. Perhaps if he had left immediately after demolishing the hospital he would have been able to strike the civilian shelters down with his **Jinton** (Dust Release). But now because he had been delayed the Ino-Shika-Cho team had arrived. And they had a plan.

*****BREAK*****

Darui had handed out short wave radios to shinobi whose only purpose was to observe the battle and report back. Darui examined the data on how the battle was going. Already things weren't going exactly as planned. Ōnoki had done his part initially but instead of waiting for new orders he had gone off into the heart of Konoha to deal damage. While it could end up working out for the best the uncertainty was frustrating.

The traps Konoha had set on the walls had delivered higher than expected results. It didn't do much to change the numerical advantage but it was regretful. Darui was thankful when the Raikage had followed the plan and had retreated away from the Hokage. And speaking of the devil Darui looked up and there he was.

"I have never run from a fight Darui."

Darui never changed his expression. "I am sorry. It was necessary. I'd like you to hit the central gate. Tsunade was seen heading toward the gap Ōnoki made and Jiraiya hasn't moved from your assault area."

The Raikage grunted and was about to speed off when Darui added, "Lord Raikage when you engage it's likely the Hokage will arrive again. As soon as he does retreat and then attack the breach Ōnoki created. I'm going after that toad summon."

The Raikage nodded and sped back into battle.

Darui had already killed one summon and Manda had a more fearsome reputation. Once the great toad was down and the best of Konoha's defenders were on the other side of the village there would be no meaningful resistance on that side. Over a thousand Kumo shinobi would pile in and the advantage of numbers would start to play more heavily in their favor.

He turned to his aides, "You know the orders and contingency plans laid out. Do your duty and we will win."

**AN:** A quick note on Ōnoki – he has Fire Release, Wind Release and Earth Release, all three elements make up the Dust Release. While he's not seen using Futon jutsu I imagine he would be quite good at it. Also here is the tally of the named dead so far.

**RIP**

Shizune

Shibi Aburame

Don't hate me but more are coming!

Oh and I've added another chapter to Nine Tailed Possession - if you haven't already done so take a look and tell me what you think!


	49. Chapter 48: Invasion Part IV

**AN: **Thank you for all of the reviews! A quick note on why there are more Konoha named causalities than Kumo. There are FAR more names on the Konoha side than on the Kumo side! It is really only the Raikage, Darui, Atsui and the OC I made up, Fuyu. Meanwhile Konoha has dozens of names.

Special thanks to GJMEGA for his Beta work!

**Chapter 48: **Invasion Part IV

The Hokage along with his toad sage allies, as well as Genma and Yugao had rushed to the central gates that had finally been burst open with the return of the Raikage to the fight. The Raikage was a nearly unstoppable force of nature and he once again littered the battle field with the dead.

By the time Jiraiya got there the Raikage had butchered the defenders and the Kumo shinobi were pressing into the village. His blood up and the sight of the dead caused him to unleash a devastating wide area attack.

"**Katon Dai Endan,**" (Fire Release: Big Flame Bullet) roared the Hokage.

Pa and Ma added to the conflagration with a paired **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)

The roaring flames ignited several unfortunate Kumo shinobi. The Raikage snarled at seeing his proud shinobi wiped out so swiftly.

"Murderer! You claim to desire peace but ignite war?"

Jiraiya looked bewildered, "Me? Are you insane? You and Iwa started this war!"

"LIES!"

The Raikage blazed forward attempting to take off the Hokage's head. Jiraiya lacked the absolute speed of the Raikage but he wasn't so far outclassed that he couldn't dodge the obvious attack. He ducked the blow but the Raikage had stopped his momentum on a dime and then jabbed back with a vicious elbow that smashed into the Hokage's back violently throwing him forward.

Jiraiya's back gave a spasm of pain; it felt like his entire spine was bruised. The Raikage was not done and turned to finish off the older Kage.

The Hokage wasn't going to make it easy and swiftly used his fastest technique. **Senpo: Kebari Senbon** (Sage Art: Hair Needle Senbon). Jiraiya's long white hair grew thick with senjutsu chakra and became hard as steel. In an instant the spikes were launched at the charging Raikage. The Raikage was hit by dozens of the steel hardened, nature chakra infused spikes. His Lightning Armor leaked chakra like a sieve but his pace was only slightly slowed.

The Raikage slammed his fist into Jiraiya's head that had been slightly bowed in order to more easily fire the hair spikes. Jiraiya crashed into the ground painfully. The Raikage's leg fired like a piston slamming into the Hokage's ribs and launching him into the air. The Raikage pushed off of the ground with chakra and jumped into the air to strike down the leader of the leaf village.

His strike was blocked by the sudden appearance of Gama, one of the stout battle toads of Mount Myoboku. While he was not a massive toad he did carry jōnin levels of strength and hardiness. Shima had summoned the toad without hand seals. The Raikage being the Raikage meant that even Gama's mighty strength was unequal to the task and the toad's arm shattered under the blow.

However the collision did pause the Raikage's momentum which gave Jiraiya the breathing room he needed to Kawarimi a safe distance away. He had cracked ribs and a nasty knot on his forehead. If it hadn't been for sage mode his skull would have likely been shattered. Gama dissipated in a puff of smoke back to Mount Myoboku.

While in mid air the Raikage's speed did him little good. With nothing to shove off of he could not change the laws of gravity with chakra the way Ōnoki could. He saw two senbon flash wide of him. The senbon had ultra-thin ninja wire attached that had lines of explosives tags on them. As the wires came together behind the Raikage the tags went off. Inside his **Raiton no Yoroi** (Lightning Release Armor) he took no damage but more chakra was burned off. Genma had to be content with that because there was little else in his arsenal that could make an impact.

The Raikage landed and launched himself back at the Hokage who was ready for him. Rasengan whirling in both hands he thrust them at speeding Raiton specialist. The Raikage dodged one and blocked the other which he had hoped would give him an opening to drive his fist into Jiraiya. The whirling mass of chakra couldn't pierce his aura of lightning but the swirling rotation did put out enough force to throw him back.

The instant he was thrown back Pa and Ma both let loose a blistering barrage of air bullets via **Futon: Shinkugyoku** (Wind Release Vacuum Bullets). A shinobi in free fall cannot arrest his momentum so he had little choice but to throw up his arms in a defensive posture as the two toad sage's peppered him with the air bullets.

The bullets tore into his **Raiton no Yoroi** (Lightning Release Armor) and pierced into his flesh. The energy had partially dissipated going through the lightning barrier but it still had enough cutting power to pierce a couple of inches into his muscular arms. Biting back the pain the Raikage heeded Darui's early request and fled back out of Konoha. Jiraiya lacked the speed to pursue; it was one thing to counter attack where he knew an enemy would be since they were on the offensive. It was another to chase after someone who was simply faster.

Jiraiya had no time to nurse his cracked ribs, the contusion on his head or his bruised back as the Kumo shinobi charged in. Despite the fiery death he laid out and their Kage seemingly routed they did their duty and charged fearlessly at the Hokage.

**Doton: Yomi Numa** (Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld) was quickly placed at the gate's entrance slowing the entry of more enemy shinobi. Those who were caught in the swamp slowly began to sink as the chakra infused mud prevented their escape through things like the body substitution technique.

There was no rest for the Hokage as Kumo shinobi already through and those climbing over the walls assailed him with kunai, senbon and kenjutsu. Some that attacked were Raiton clones that carried dangerous levels of voltage. Even a pair of genjutsu users attempted to snare the Sannin several times despite not being able to fool the toad sage's enhanced senses.

Jiraiya responded with devastating combination jutsus with his toad sage allies. The enemy was rarely able to cause damage but a few did. A senbon nicked Shima though fortunately it was not poisonous. A particularly skilled kenjutsu specialist managed to give the Hokage a shallow cut on his shoulder and finally a Katon jutsu from long range singed him. The fire jutsu was one Jiraiya hadn't seen before and actually seemed to follow the intended target.

Corpses piled up around him and his guards took on a support role doing their best to make sure the Hokage was not flanked. A normal sage would have long run out of natural chakra but Jiraiya had Pa and Ma who alternated staying perfectly still and gathered nature chakra for Jiraiya. However the battle with the Raikage and the non stop fighting with the Kumo shinobi was taxing them greatly. They simply could not keep up with the expenditure of natural chakra. Jiraiya could sense this but still fought on against the extremely skilled horde of shinobi.

*****BREAK*****

Even as Shizune breathed her last the Konoha logistical corps was frantically making back up plans to beef up the ad hoc trauma centers near the front lines for wounded shinobi. Those areas had supplies, but more supplies were going to be needed now that their primary aid location was decimated. Every skilled shinobi was needed to fight so it was up to the genin to take fuinjutsu sealed scrolls filled with bandages, plasma pills, soldier pills, sutures and other medical supplies to the waiting triage stations.

Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi were one such team that was frantically carrying a set of scrolls to one of the triage centers. In their haste they nearly ran into the middle of a battle involving several Hyūga and other chūnin against Fuyu, C and a band of infiltrators.

"Shit, this way," Konohamaru called out and bolted down a side alley.

A Kumo shinobi with a katana leapt down from one of the roofs cutting off their escape.

The man darted forward at chūnin level speed and Konohamaru got into a fighting stance while throwing a pair of shuriken. The chūnin easily deflected the shuriken but he had slowed his forward movement slightly which allowed Moegi time to open up a kunai scroll. Forty kunai burst forth at almost point blank range. The surprised chūnin contorted his body and deflected as best he could but one slammed into his leg, another slashed his cheek and the final one hit his side and deflected off of his rib.

The shinobi's charge turned into a tumble and Konohamaru took a risk and kicked the man's hand breaking his grip on the katana. Udon used a weak genjutsu that was ineffective while Konohamaru sent another kick at the chūnin. He caught Hiruzen's grandson's leg and slammed the boy against the wall of the alley painfully.

Moegi attached an explosive seal to her kunai and launched it at the nin's feet. The wounded shinobi pushed off with his good leg and pulled the kunai free of his leg. He threw it at the young kunoichi who brought up her own kunai to deflect it.

Chilling laughter could be heard at the opposite end of the ally in the direction of the fighting. Fuyu appeared with her blades dripping in blood.

"Having trouble with three genin? What a joke."

Konohamaru shakily got to his feet. The woman moved with a deadly grace.

"Boy I have no interest in killing children. I'll let you live if you know where Anko Mitarashi is."

Konohamaru had no idea where she was but even if he did he wouldn't tell the enemy anything.

"Screw you! My name is Konohamaru Sarutobi and I'll never betray my village!"

*****BREAK*****

Shikaku arrived near the hospital and saw Ōnoki start rising back into the air. The Nara couldn't believe their luck at finding him near the ground and immediately used a shunshin to close the distance and use **Kagemane no Jutsu** (Shadow Imitation Technique). Ōnoki had felt the chakra and prepared to defend himself. He only had an instant to see the shadows lash out after his own shadow.

At that the last moment before the shadows touched he used a Kawarimi with a piece of debris. The Tsuchikage was now on the ground. Shikaku sent his shadow racing back toward the Kage. The Tsuchikage knew flying into the air wouldn't stop the attack since he would still be casting a shadow on the ground, the Nara ability worked by shadows touching shadows.

Instead he recreated Earth Golems and sent them charging after the Nara. He then used Kawarimi again to get away from the streaking shadow. Meanwhile the rest of the team arrived. Inoichi opened up with a kunai scroll while Ebisu used **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique). Since he wasn't able to use Futon jutsu due to the flames, Ōnoki used a simple mud wall to block the kunai and the fiery jutsu.

Inoichi meanwhile used **Magen: Niju Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu** (Demonic Illusion: Double False Surrounding Technique). Ōnoki easily dispelled the genjutsu but only the first layer. The second layer however was not dispelled and Ōnoki did not detect it because it changed almost nothing about his surroundings. The only change was that it masked the approach of a second Kagemane being used by the real Shikaku.

The Earth Golem smashed down at the Nara shadow clone that dodged away from the attack. Chōza barreled into the scene and smashed straight through one golem. He was using **Nikudan** **Sensha** (Human Bullet Tank). He spun ominously and then headed straight for the diminutive Kage. The attack was not one he expected to connect wit. It was meant to deceive; it was just a further distraction so that the Kagemane could make contact.

As the Tsuchikage turned to face Chōza the Kagemane touched his shadow and he froze in place. As soon as that took place Ebisu used a shunshin to appear next to the Tsuchikage and drove a kunai into his throat.

Their victory turned to surprise as the Tsuchikage transformed into a broken pile of rocks. Shikaku instantly knew that the old man had used **Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu** (Rock Clone Technique) and played them for fools. But when did it happen? Thinking back on the battle the only time where it could have happened was when he made the **Doton: Doryuheki** (Earth Release: Mud Wall). At the same time as he created it he must have created the rock clone in the wall itself and then change places with the clone!

The wall exploded outward as an incredibly large and fast **Doton: Dosekiryu** (Earth Style: Earth Dragon) slammed into Ebisu. The dragon pushed the scarred shinobi into a building. The attack snapped a number of bones and Ebisu collapsed unconscious after the jutsu ended.

"Did you think it would be that easy to defeat a Kage?" Ōnoki taunted them. Shikaku knew that what stood before him was no the actual Tsuchikage but another rock clone. Shikaku also knew that Inoichi would be using his clan abilities to verify his actual location. It would be important for no one to reveal the fact that they knew the clone in front of them was not actually Ōnoki.

'I better keep him talking. Maybe I can draw him out'

"Troublesome. As someone who coordinated the defense of the village I am ashamed to admit I never considered your presence."

The rock clone chuckled, "That was the point. Any last words before I finish you off and then lay waste to your precious shelters?"

Shikaku smiled, "Just this. Even if you win here Team Seven will hunt you down. After all they were able to kill your son easily enough. It's unclear if your granddaughter survived the little attack on Takigakure but with the massive amount of casualties inflicted I wouldn't hold my breath."

The real Tsuchikage gave a cry of pure rage underneath the earth and then everything happened at once.

*****BREAK*****

Anko, Iruka, the ANBU and the small group of stragglers were about to start racing back to the village that now had more parts burning. Before they did Iruka raised his hand.

"A powerful chakra source is coming from the opposite direction. It will be here in about an hour."

He paused straining his senses and then his eyes widened.

"No, it's moving fast, incredibly fast. It will be here in less than 30 minutes."

Anko's mind raced as she considered the possibilities. Her mind almost immediately went to a worst case scenario situation. Could one of the jinchuuriki from Kumo be trying to hit the village from an unexpected angle?

"Are there any other chakra signatures? Does it have any demonic chakra?"

Iruka furrowed his brow.

"Well?" Anko pressed.

Iruka's eye's popped open and then a smile blossomed on his face.

"It's Naruto Namikaze."

*****BREAK*****

Pillars of strength held back the Kumo tide where the Tsuchikage had broken through the wall that surrounded Konohagakure. Maito Gai moved with relentless energy and never slowed down. His stamina reserves were astounding to all. Tsunade Senju was the second pillar of strength. Her chakra filled punches seemed to go on without end.

Asuma, Neji, Tenten and the few other surviving shinobi were truly in awe at what they were seeing. The initial moments of their team entering the battle was an uncontested slaughter. But as the battle grew longer Asuma and Neji grew wearier. They could still fight at a high jōnin level but they were slowing down.

The problem was that it wasn't trash that they were fighting. They had to use chakra to move and defend against deadly Raiton strikes. These were elite shinobi who had trained for years for this war. They were holding but only due to the prowess of Tsunade and Gai.

Both Asuma and Neji downed their soldier pills and used their renewed energy to fight back the fatigue that threatened to leave them dangerously open. Tenten could only hope that the two S class taijutsu specialists could keep going because if they faltered Kumo had an open path to the heart of Konoha.

*****BREAK*****

The Raikage made it back to where Darui had set up camp. His right arm was not there as he had gone to deal with the toad chief. His aides however briefed him on the situation and a medical nin quickly healed the Raikage's pockmarked arms.

He had knocked the Hokage around a bit but hadn't been able to deliver a decisive blow. The Hokage on his own wasn't his match but the two puppets on his shoulders were constantly thwarting his attempts to end the fight. And they had actually drawn blood, something that hadn't happened in years.

The leader of Kumo realized he needed to change his strategy. The next attack he made on the Hokage would not be to the man himself but on those damn frogs. With that thought he continued to play it out as Darui envisioned. He raced over to the right flank where Ōnoki had opened the breach. For some reason his shinobi had not yet been able to fully break through and invade the village.

*****BREAK*****

Konohamaru saw the writing on the wall. This was where he would die. The kunoichi was a jōnin and simply outclassed him and his teammates. But he would face death on his feet. Readying his kunai he faced his death like a Sarutobi.

"Run Konohamaru!"

The voice that shouted the order was from Kotetsu Hagane.

His partner Izumo used **Suiton: Mizuame Nabara** (Water Release: Syrup Trap) to flood the ally in between Konohamaru and Fuyu. Fuyu jumped back away from the sticky liquid and Kotetsu attacked her with both of his blades.

Fuyu was slightly off balance from her unexpected leap but she was faster than Kotetsu. Within just a moment or two it became clear who the jōnin was and who was the chūnin.

Meanwhile Konohamaru and his team charged the Kumo nin barring their path. Konohamaru was a talented genin and as he ran he used a surprisingly advanced technique. He palmed a pair of shuriken and used **Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** (Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique). The Kumo chūnin cursed and threw himself flat on the ground allowing the scores of deadly projectiles to sail over him. The three genin leapt over him and fled the alley.

The Kumo nin gripped his blade and slashed at the last genin in the line. Udon was the last in line and so it was his leg that was sliced up by the katana. Udon stumbled and fell clutching his leg as his two teammates looked back in horror.

Fuyu's blades danced like they were alive and Kotetsu was being driven back quickly. However each time she thought she finally had him his partner would interfere somehow. A thrown kunai, a small water jutsu or even a minor genjutsu that distracted her. Their team work was superb.

They were momentarily distracted when Konohamaru yelled, "Udon no!"

The boy ran back for his friend and Izumo shouted for him to get away. But he wasn't going to leave his friend. Udon bled freely from his leg and the enemy nin rose up to cut him down. Konohamaru screamed and barely managed to parry the blow with his own kunai.

Izumo left his friend to deal with Fuyu while he saved the beloved Sandaime's grandson. Fuyu grinned and lunged forward. Without any distraction the difference in skill was too great and in a moment Kotetsu had a blade in his gut. Fuyu ripped it out viciously and then finished him off with a slash through the throat.

Izumo kicked the katana out of the wounded Kumo chūnin's hand and slammed him against the ally wall.

"Get out of here now," he barked out.

Moegi and Konohamaru helped the nearly unconscious Udon stagger out of the ally and they took off at a hobbled run.

Izumo managed to deliver a knife hand strike to the Kumo nin whose throat collapsed under the blow. He barely had time to turn before Fuyu was on him. He desperately tried to pull out a kunai and deflect one of Fuyu's descending blades but she compensated and cut off his hand. A quick double thrust to the chest finished off the affable pair of gate guards that knew everyone in the village. Their friendly faces would no longer greet returning shinobi and visitors alike.

*****BREAK*****

C was not having a great day. He had been separated from Fuyu after a major counterattack by the Konoha reserves running into them. In the swirling melee they had broken off into smaller fights. Right now he was with a half dozen fellow Kumo shinobi attempting to get back to their own lines. As a sensor he was able to avoid the trapped regions of Konoha but that funneled him right into places where Konoha shinobi lurked.

He sensed a strong chakra source followed by several smaller ones heading for him. He motioned for his squad to change directions but their pursuers followed.

'Damn Hyūga.'

C decided being chased down and running the risk of running into more enemies wasn't a good idea. He told his squad to get ready and then the enemy appeared. C instantly recognized Hiashi Hyūga. The clan head killed the comrade next to him.

He immediately used **Raigen Raikochu** (Lightning Illusion: Flash Pillar). Unlike the previous attempt it failed to do anything to slow down Hiashi. C watched as the rest of the shinobi with him fought an Inuzuka and a two shinobi who didn't have obvious clan markings.

"Do you think I don't know the abilities of every single Kumogakure shinobi of any note?" Hiashi asked in a deathly quiet voice.

The guard of the Raikage took a step back and then created chakra scalpels in his hands.

"C, jōnin level. Initially trained as a medical nin. Branched out into genjutsu and is reasonably skilled in taijutsu."

Hiashi glided forward, the epitome of Hyūga grace. C lashed out with one chakra scalpel that Hiashi easily dodged and counterattacked with an instantaneous strike to a tenketsu point on his arm. The Kumo shinobi's chakra scalpel wavered as the flow of chakra became irregular in his arm. C used his other arm to strike but again Hiashi easily avoided the blow and another tenketsu point was closed.

C backpedaled but Hiashi kept the distance close easily keeping up. He attempted to use Kawarimi but Hiashi was too close and interrupted the jutsu with a deadly strike to the chest that bruised his heart badly. The Kumo jōnin lashed out with his legs but that too was futile. The Hyūga pressed in close and soon a barrage of gentle yet painful strikes ripped into C's chest. After the first 20 the man was dead but Hiashi didn't stop until the last 44 strikes were complete.

The Konoha shinobi finished off the small squad here while Hiashi used his Byakugan and scanned the area for their next targets.

*****BREAK*****

Darui approached the battlefield where the Raikage had first struck. The Konoha shinobi had taken back the wall with the help of the toad chief Gamabunta. The stubborn defenders were using a wide array of jutsu and projectiles. With Gamabunta able to actually strike the top of the wall with his oversized knife it prevented any progress even when his shinobi push through the Konoha defenders.

Darui looked at the situation for a few moments and then sprinted up the wall. He dodged a Katon jutsu and then he was on top of the wall. His katana was out and his S class reflexes and speed were good enough to easily dispose of the two chūnin. Gamabunta saw the action on the wall and lashed out with his blade. Darui flattened himself dodging the blade and then leaped at Gamabunta with a war cry.

In midair he used Kawarimi to substitute himself with a discarded katana at Gamabunta's feet. Darui viciously slashed with his blade cutting deep into the great toad's lower leg. The great toad gave a grunt of pain and kicked out with more speed than Darui had been expecting.

Luckily for him he managed to dodge aside at that last moment so that the powerful kick only grazed his shoulder. The attack still spun him around but he quickly recovered. A pair of kunai with explosive tags flew toward him forcing him to dodge back. Gamabunta favored one leg and brought his knife down on Darui.

Darui dodged the massive attack and unleashed **Ranton: Reiza Sakasu **(Storm Release: Laser Circus). The thunderous energy smashed into Gamabunta who was already unbalanced from his leg wound. The great toad teetered ungainly and fell flat on his back.

A genjutsu tried to obscure Darui's senses but he quickly dispelled it without any real effort as he raced toward the downed toad. Gamabunta lifted his head and fired a **Suiton: Teppodama** (Water Release: Gun Shot) at the charging Kumo nin. Unlike a normal Suiton jutsu this attack was massive. It was 15 feet across and hurtling straight for him. With his forward momentum he couldn't dodge right or left to avoid it so he jumped over it. Gamabunta slashed with tanto at the descending storm release user.

Darui snapped his blade down hard to intercept the larger weapon. Darui knew he had no chance of knocking the blade aside but it allowed him to somewhat blunt its power. The two blades clashed and Darui avoided getting cut however he was sent flying backwards and slammed into Konoha's outer wall painfully.

Gamabunta struggled to his feet while Darui recovered from the hit. Changing tactics Darui created several Lightning Clones and sent them at Gamabunta's vulnerable legs.

Meanwhile he performed another Kawarimi and began cutting down Konoha shinobi trying to stop the Kumo shinobi from cresting the wall. His opponents weren't incompetent but they were all chūnin. His blade carved through their defenses like a hot knife through butter.

Gamabunta seethed in frustration. He couldn't really let loose with mighty leaps and flatten the area and hopefully get the slippery Raiton user because he would damage the defensive structures as well as kill his allies. Another Raiton clone bit into his leg, another one he squashed but it discharged electricity that was frying his nerves.

With a mighty roar Gamabunta came up with a solution to the situation. He flexed his legs and then gave a mighty leap over the Konoha wall and into the gathered Kumo shinobi waiting for their chance. A few kunai and an azure bolt of lightning struck him in mid air but the damage was minimal. In return he killed several shinobi with the landing and more were pushed back by the concussive shock waves.

The gathered Kumo shinobi let fly with kunai, shuriken and explosive seals. Bolts of lightning assailed the great toad from all sides. Darui looked out and tilted his head and decided he could do more good slaughtering the defenders on this side of the wall.

Gamabunta roared with the pain of hundreds of minor wounds. He took to the sky again and landed in a particular thick grouping of Kumo shinobi. Dozens of Kumo shinobi lost their lives. Another massive blast of water from his mouth sent more Kumo shinobi flying away.

Darui began slaughtering the gathered Konoha shinobi. He wasn't as adept as the Raikage but he was an S ranked shinobi for a reason. The difference between a jōnin and a chūnin was large but the difference between an average jōnin and an S ranked threat was even greater. And right now all Darui had to contend with was chūnin.

Gamabunta however was not so fortunate; he had to deal with chūnin and jōnin. While he was doing a fair job of massacring the chūnin, the jōnin were a harder nut to crack. His leaps allowed them time to vacate the area with a variety of techniques. He had created a sizeable dent in the invading Kumo shinobi on this side but blood loss and fried nerves were catching up to him.

'Sorry Jiraiya but I can't go on.'

With an explosive pop the exhausted and bloodied Gamabunta ended the summon and returned to Mount Myoboku.

The gathered Kumo shinobi cheered and poured into Konohagakure by the hundreds.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto and Sakura were intercepted by Anko and Iruka. Naruto put Sakura down and immediately asked, "What's going on why aren't you over there," as he pointed toward Konoha.

Anko gave him a thin smile.

"Nice to see you too, orders from the Hokage, we were tasked with gathering any stragglers coming back to Konoha. Are you ready to fight? Because from what I can tell from out here the fighting is all over Konoha."

Naruto grimaced. He had been privy to the defensive plans set up in case of this kind of invasion. He had after all created most of the seals. While Sakura had been the brain behind them it had been his clones that had allowed them to be mass produced. If they got past the walls it meant that the enemy was strong.

"I'm ready. I had to use the kyūbi's chakra to get here but I have more than enough energy left!"

Sakura also nodded indicating her readiness.

Anko quickly made a plan. Naruto would make clones and spread them out in all directions. He would pop them and determine the conditions in the village. Meanwhile they would advance at a quick pace but not at top speed. They would then hit the part of the battlefield in most need of help.

Before they moved out Sakura gave Iruka and Anko each a kunai.

"Put a little chakra in them and in two seconds the fuinjutsu seal will release. The seal is etched in the kunai. Anko yours will create a highly corrosive gas that can melt flesh. The pressure seals will make it expand to a radius of 15 feet."

She turned to Iruka.

"Yours is a modified kunai scroll that when released will send out 40 kunai and all of those kunai are replicas of the original."

Iruka's eyes widened, "That's… 1600 kunai!"

Sakura just smiled, Iruka hadn't seen the battle against the Iwa army.

Naruto though had a grim expression on his face as he created a hundred clones and had them fan out. They had invaded his country and attacked his home. Naruto was going to kick them the hell out, believe it.

**AN: **Probably two more chapters in the invasion. I apologize to those who aren't keen on a lot of battles but it is one of the parts that I do like to focus on when I write. Hopefully the different scene breaks help keep things moving.

Updated RIP list:

Shizune

Shibi Aburame

Kotetsu

Izumo

C


	50. Chapter 49: Death of a Kage

**AN: **Long AN at the end – until then please enjoy!

Special thanks to GJMEGA for his beta work!

**Chapter 49: **Death of a Kage

Jiraiya was practically single handedly holding off the frontal attack on the gates. The Kumo shinobi could sense his movements becoming less crisp as he fought while exhaustion began setting in. But even slightly slower attacks still massacred them.

His taijutsu was swift and powerful, a single punch could kill if it struck the head or mid-section. Beyond just his taijutsu he liberally used ninjutsu that took out whole swathes of invaders. Raiton jutsu flashed through the air but failed to connect with the Godaime Hokage.

It wasn't only Jiraiya who was getting tired. Genma and Yugao were also breathing heavily. Genma was in a bit better shape as his attacks were primarily senbon based. Yugao on the other hand was using her katana and she could feel the ache in her limbs.

"Jiraiya boy you need to retreat. You are at your limit; soon you will drop out of sage mode!"

Jiraiya shook his head. He wouldn't stop, not until the village was safe.

On the opposing side of the battlefield Atsui saw the Hokage slowing down. Not even an S class threat like him could stand up forever against waves of enemy shinobi, especially one who had just tangled with the Raikage.

Knowing that Jiraiya couldn't keep them out forever Atsui had started stripping jōnin from the advancing waves of Kumo shinobi attacking the Hokage. He now had a dozen jōnin ready to go and would strike when the time was right. The honor of killing a Kage would be his. The elite jōnin gave a smile at the situation and thought about his sister. If he could kill a Kage and she could kill the Fire Daimyo there would be stories about their legend for generations.

'I'm coming for you soon Hokage!'

*****BREAK*****

The Raikage streaked across the battlefield. His speed was legendary and with that super human speed came power that made him the greatest taijutsu user in the world. Like he had done on the left flank and in the center he would cut through the Konoha line and allow his shinobi access into his enemy's stronghold.

Up ahead he saw why his shinobi hadn't made any progress. Gai and Tsunade were there holding the line. They were both ferociously skilled hand to hand combatants. Judging from the amount of blood on them and the number of his loyal shinobi dead at their feet they had caused the lion's share of the casualties.

Gai dipped his head a fraction allowing the katana to miss by an inch. He retaliated with a devastating fist to the chest that made the enemy shinobi fly backwards twenty feet. He sensed the approach of the Raikage and instantly knew his current level of power and speed would simply not be enough.

The green clad elite jōnin instantly accessed the **Hachimon** (Eight Gates) and opened the sixth gate. The **Keimon** (Gate of View) allowed massive increases in strength and speed and at the same time it granted the benefits of the early gates which refreshed his stamina. His skin turned red and power radiated around him. Shimmering with power Gai rushed forward and intercepted the Raikage.

The Raikage had been aiming for Tsunade and almost didn't see the flash of green and red before it was on him. He pivoted and blocked the powerful fist. The forceful collision shoved both of them back a few feet. The Raikage recovered slightly faster than Gai and rushed back in delivering a powerful elbow to Gai's chest, or it would have if Gai hadn't shoved it aside at the last moment.

Tsunade's eyes widened at the speed that they were fighting at. She could keep track of their movements but in a hand to hand fight she would have been decimated by either one of them. Granted she could heal herself from almost all wounds that weren't instantly fatal so the battle wouldn't have been a foregone conclusion; but it would have been a very painful test.

Asuma and Neji were panting heavily. They, Tenten and the few remaining Konoha shinobi wouldn't be able to stem the tide now that Gai was busy with the Raikage. Tsunade knew she would have to increase her participation in the fight.

She used her **Byakugo no Jutsu** (Strength of a Hundred Seal) and allowed the chakra to flow freely over her body. With it she flashed through the hand seals for **Kuchiyose no Jutsu **(Summoning Technique).

Katsuyu, the great slug of Shikkotsu Forest, appeared in front of Tsunade and in front of the attacking Kumo shinobi. The Kumo shinobi immediately struck out at the great slug summon. Though their attacks seemed to cause damage Tsunade knew that it would take far more to defeat Katsuyu.

Katsuyu began her contribution to the battle with **Zesshi** **Nensan** (Tongue Tooth Sticky Acid). A mass of highly corrosive acids splattered over the attacking Kumo shinobi. Where it struck death took only moments, the acid could melt stone. Flesh stood little chance of surviving that.

Gai and the Raikage continued their battle ignoring the towering slug and the attacking Kumo shinobi. The Raikage was still faster and this led to him being able to get more strikes in. However even with Gai being slower he managed to avoid damage to his body by expertly blocking or moving with the blow to mitigate the damage. The Raikage was impressed with Konoha's taijutsu expert. At equal speed and strength Gai would have destroyed him in combat.

However as good as Gai was the Raikage was still faster and he was surrounded by his **Raiton no Yoroi** (Lightning Release Armor). Though the Raikage had chakra reserves that equaled a jinchuuriki even he was starting to tire form the multiple battles he had participated in.

'I have to finish him off soon; I still have to deal with Tsunade and Jiraiya.'

The Raikage blitzed forward over and over refusing to even entertain a taijutsu battle. It was just raw speed pummeling the green clad elite shinobi. Tsunade was busy aiding her summon and while Asuma tried to assist Gai, his thrown chakra blade was easy to dodge with the speeds that the leader of Kumo was moving at.

Gai had no choice but to try to match the Raikage's speed and that meant opening another gate. With a loud cry he opened up **Kyōmon** (Gate of Wonder). The Raikage faltered for a moment as blue energy radiated from Konoha's green beast. Gai exploded into motion and launched a devastating kick at the Raikage.

The Raikage blocked but lost his footing and was sent barreling with lethal force through two of his own shinobi. Gai had a limit to how long he could maintain this level of power, every second would do more damage to his body. With little time to dally Gai dashed forward after the Raikage.

*****BREAK****

As befitting his station Homura had not been asked to fight. But as the battle for Konoha raged and more and more shinobi were pulled from the reserves and thrust into battle he grew restless. This was his home and it was his people that were bleeding. When word came that the Tsuchikage had allied himself with the Kumo force it was the final straw. Homura walked away from the shelters and armed himself. He joined a band of shinobi who were rushing to reinforce the Hokage.

Homura had not gone on a mission in years and had not held a weapon in battle since the Kyūbi attack fifteen years ago. But he was a jōnin who had fought beside the Nidaime Hokage. With grim determination he kept pace with the half dozen four man squads that had been sent to the main gates.

'So few; things must be dire if Ibiki-san isn't sending more.'

*****BREAK*****

What Ōnoki was not aware of was that the Yamanaka clan head had used a very subtle jutsu that caused it's victims to become more angry and more impetuous. So when Shikaku taunted him with the death of his son and probable death of his granddaughter there was likely only going to be one response. What Inoichi was not aware of was that Ōnoki enraged was terrifyingly powerful.

Six **Doton: Dosekiryu** (Earth Style: Earth Dragon) simultaneously rose up from the ground around the wrathful Tsuchikage. The dragons made of rock slammed through buildings and nearly crushed Inoichi in his hiding place.

Shikaku, who was having his own troubles dodging the powerful earth golems, suddenly had a new problem to worry about. Only a Kawarimi at that very last split second prevented him from being smashed between the two. Chōza was the only one who dealt with the threat directly by increasing his size and smashing a pair of the earthen dragons away with his staff.

Ōnoki was far from done and with a single hand seal used **Doton**: **Doryuso** (Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears) underneath Chōza's feet. The large man was surprised by the suddenness of the attack and couldn't fully get out of the way and suffered severe puncture wounds in his calf and on his feet.

The Nara clan head gave a coded shout to his companions as he tossed a poison gas bomb at Ōnoki. The gas never got near him as an earthen wall sprang up to block the deadly projectile.

The Akimichi clan patriarch swiftly ate a capsule that contained the **Horengan** (Green Spinach Pill) and the **Karegan** (Yellow Curry Pill). A corona of pale blue chakra flickered behind Chōza as he charged forward and smashed an earth golem and a mud wall to pieces without even slowing down.

Sensing the danger but unwilling to retreat Ōnoki flickered through the hand seals and sent out a stream of super-heated fire. Incredibly Chōza did not veer or hesitate for a moment as he pushed his arms out in front of him and let the flames burn them.

The Nara clan head dashed in behind the Chōza sized hole and sent his shadow flying ahead. Even in his enraged state Ōnoki had expected this and as he fell back from the charging Chōza he simultaneously forged the chakra needed for his most powerful attack.

**Jinton: Genkai Hakuri no Jutsu** (Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu) sprang to life in a massive cube covering Chōza and Shikaku.

Nara had a flash of panic as he thought their plan had failed however he then instantly realized that if he had time to even think it must have been a success. The chakra died down around Chōza and Shikaku and he knew that Inoichi had been successful.

The plan from the beginning was to use Chōza as a distraction. Shikaku knew that Ōnoki would realize this but just as the rock clone that had been stabbed by Ebisu had cleared one layer of genjutsu but not the 2nd he had failed to realize that Shikaku was also a distraction. The real attack had come from Inoichi

A war now raged in the mind of the Tsuchikage as Inoichi's **Shintenshin no Jutsu** (Mind Body Switch Technique) took hold. Against a lesser Yamanaka the powerful chakra and experience of his victim would have made the attack a failure. However he was the clan head for a reason and he only needed to hold it for a few seconds.

Shikaku swiftly tossed Ōnoki a small pellet that was actually a near instantaneous acting poison that was surrounded with a small layer of chakra paper. As soon as it was swallowed it acted in less than a half a second as the paper flaked off. Inoichi forced Ōnoki to catch the pellet, slip it into his mouth and swallow. At that exact moment he exited from the oldest living Kage's mind. Any damage done to Ōnoki would have also done the same to Inoichi – by using a wrapped pill it gave Inoichi just enough time to exit before the physiological effects of the pill would occur.

Ōnoki tried to attack as soon as he regained control of his limbs but by then it was too late and his body and mind shut down. He twitched for a few moments and then lay still. The Sandaime Tsuchikage had passed from the world.

*****BREAK*****

Darui had expected an easier time after breaching Konoha's defenses. Yes they were fighting on their home ground but he had hoped their strong outer defense had left a relatively weaker inner force. The force was weaker but streets had been trapped and the defenders harassed their march quite effectively.

Chasing after pairs of shinobi using those accursed kunai scrolls led to more losses as they fell victim to poisonous gas, explosions and ambushes. He had even suffered a close call when a massive explosion blew apart the building he was fighting on.

He knew if he left the battle to go find the Raikage the hundreds of shinobi behind him would suffer atrocious losses. Instead he gamely continued and hoped he would find C or Fuyu and send them to check on their leader.

Before he could do more searching in between fights a strong resistance gathered in the streets. The buildings near the gathered Konoha shinobi were probably death traps. They could try to take their time to clear them but that would prove costly as the hit and run attacks would be incessant. Kumo could not use their superior numbers in this fight either as there was only room for about 4-5 shinobi to fight in the artificially enclosed area.

Darui eyed the opponents and saw that Hiashi Hyūga was at their head.

'Raiton jutsu will just be deflected with Kaiten; a tough nut to crack.'

Wearily Darui unsheathed his blade. Kenjutsu beat taijutsu but against a master of the **Juken** (Gentle Fist) that maxim would be put to the test. He could feel the weight of the Byakugan stare, Hiashi hated Kumogakure and for good reason. Darui picked up his pace and raced toward the head of Konoha's most powerful clan.

*****BREAK*****

Jiraiya had just finished killing two Kumo shinobi with a vicious taijutsu assault when he felt sudden weakness overtake him. Ma and Pa gave out a cry as Jiraiya dropped out of sage mode. His chakra was at near terminal levels and since Ma and Pa had been summoned they both dissipated back to their home.

The Kumo shinobi were quick to pounce, eager to bring down the enemy leader. Atsui couldn't have asked for a better chance and gave the signal that sent the jōnin in.

Given Jiraiya's S class stamina and reserves a chakra pill wasn't going to do much but he still swallowed one and felt some of his energy return.

Genma blew out the last of his senbon at the assaulting Kumo shinobi and pulled out a kunai to go in up close and personal. The first three Kumo shinobi were on Jiraiya in a heartbeat. Kenjutsu specialists all of them, they forced the Hokage to duck and weave between their blades.

The Hokage didn't want to use the Rasengan due to the amount of chakra it required so he settled for delivering a strong kick to one cloud nin's midsection and deflecting a sword strike with a kunai that he pulled out of his sleeve. Years of experience allowed him to avoid the slicing blades and deal damage to the enemy in return.

However it wasn't looking good. There were more than three jōnin attacking and there were dozens more chūnin on their heels. Genma managed to surprise one of the jōnin with an unexpected Kawarimi. As his katana wielding opponent turned the senbon aficionado plunged his kunai into his spine.

Yugao was forced back by a pair of Kumo shinobi, one wielding a long blade and the other lashing out with Raiton jutsu. The combination of the two kept her on her toes and in a defensive posture.

Jiraiya accepted another slash to his shoulder in order to drive his stiffened fingers into his opponent's throat. The attacked instantly collapsed his windpipe and he died choking. But even though he had taken down two of his attackers more sprang into place and he was simply too worn down to counter effectively. A Lightning clone dissipated from a kick momentarily electrocuting the toad sage. A third shinobi stabbed him deep in the side delivering a painful wound that would eventually cause him to bleed out if it wasn't attended to.

Atsui chose that moment to strike and let loose with a super heated thin line of fire aimed directly at the Hokage's chest. Genma didn't have to think twice as he defended his Hokage the only way he had left. His Kawarimi interposed himself with the jet of fire. At the same time he tossed his kunai directly at the Kumo nin who had stabbed Jiraiya.

The flame lanced into Genma's body killing him. It stopped the flames however and at the same time Genma's kunai cut deep into the kenjutsu specialist next to Jiraiya. The distraction was enough for Jiraiya to recover and finish off two of the jōnin who had vexed him.

Atsui was pissed that his attack hadn't finished it but became even more upset when he saw reinforcements had finally arrived. An old man was leading a score of Konoha shinobi.

'No matter it won't be enough.'

The Katon specialist wasn't going to leave things to chance. He blazed forward and drew his own blade. He would kill the wounded Hokage himself.

Homura charged into battle and used **Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu** (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique). While it was a low level genjutsu it was also easily used and the greater the user's skill the more devastating the effect. The Kumo shinobi he targeted were battling Yugao and it only caused them to falter for a moment. But that was all the Konoha kenjutsu specialist needed as she decapitated one and thrust into the other.

Jiraiya staggered back, nearly collapsing from the combination of his wounds, chakra exhaustion and his latest exertion. Atsui's first attack was narrowly avoided. The second strike sliced into his arm, almost to the bone. The third strike was intercepted by Yugao.

Homura flashed through the hand seals necessary for **Doton: Doryuheki** (Earth Release: Mud Wall) and poured extra chakra into it making it extend out further than normal. While Raiton had a natural advantage over Doton it was typically used to pierce a specific point not break down an entire wall.

"Get the Hokage to safety. Now!" the elderly shinobi thundered.

Half off the chūnin obeyed. A pair picked their leader up by the arms and leapt away from the battle. The rest gave a battle cry filled with **Hi no Ishi** (Will of Fire) and threw themselves at the invaders.

Yugao and Atsui exchanged stroke and counter stroke. Atsui had found a worthy opponent at the wrong time. He desperately wanted to rush past her and go after the real prize but her blade would not let him pass. The purple haired kunoichi pushed hard against Atsui's blade forcing him back a step before she sprung back herself and created two Kage Bunshin. The blades seemed to swirl together as she and they danced forward using **Mikazuki** **no** **Mai** (Crescent Moon Dance).

Atsui put up a blistering defense against the attacks and dispelled one of the shadow clones. The sheer skill and power of the attack however cost him his right arm. He screamed as Yugao moved to finish him off with a vertical strike that would have bifurcated him. However the Konoha defenders were outnumbered and two of his comrades came in and deflected the blow.

Atsui's dreams of killing a Kage were shattered as he was forced to retreat and be treated by a medical nin with all haste before he bled out. He watched as they pulled Jiraiya to safety while the Konoha shinobi were being overwhelmed with sheer numbers. Walls of earth and stone rose up blocking the invaders again.

Homura shouted over the fray, "ANBU-san stay with the Hokage."

Yugao hesitated for a second but then obeyed rushing after Jiraiya.

Homura used the last of his chakra to throw Doton jutsu. Wall after wall was put up interspersed with spears jutting from the earth itself. He held the attackers for a full minute before he collapsed, his chakra all but utterly spent. On the ground he looked up at who would be killing him.

A Kumo shinobi stood over him and stabbed down into his back. His last thought was one of contentment. He had served his village in one last battle. As the blade pierced his back and punctured his lungs he keyed the explosive seals that he had previously adhered to his body before he rushed out to help the reserve forces. The explosions killed him and took out one last enemy of Konoha.

*****BREAK*****

Darui was breathing heavily. Hiashi had been no easy foe. The clan head had moved with practiced skill and had been nearly impossible to pin down. His Kaiten stopped every blow. Finally Darui had feinted and triggered the Kaiten and once the rotation had stopped he had dangerously used a shunshin at near point blank range and sliced out with his blade as he moved past.

His blade had sliced into the man's eyes and that had changed the tone of the fight completely. Half blinded his opponent was unable to react in time and Darui had sliced and diced parts of his flesh every time he was a fraction of a second too slow to begin his rotation.

The Hyūga had died with a curse on his lips. Darui apologized to his corpse and moved on. He didn't have time to dwell on the death; he had a battle to win. Now finally at long last the resistance was broken. Traps still lined their possible routes but there was no sign of strong resistance. When it became clear the walls had been breached and half a thousand shinobi were inside without a force left to stop them Konoha would quit the field and flee. He acknowledged that much depended on the fate of the Leaf's S class shinobi but even they should be close to chakra exhaustion at this point. His plans were finally coming together; it had come at a horrific cost however.

But Darui had not yet won. Less than a minute later he and his forces were assaulted by an army of Kage Bunshin. It only took a light hit to cause the Bunshin to dissipate but these shadow clones were moving at elite jōnin speed. Darui watched in horror as a hundred of the speedy creations ripped into his army.

The Raikage's right hand man countered with his own Raiton jutsu sending out lightning in a broad arc but it was countered by the clones using Futon jutsu. Naruto Namikaze had entered the battle with all the force of a mighty hurricane.

The real Naruto was right behind his clones. He quickly created another hundred clones and prepared to clash with the third most deadly shinobi of Kumogakure. But he would not fight the battle alone as Sakura was right behind and ready to use genjutsu or fuinjutsu as the situation called for.

The others had been sent off with another band of Naruto clones to other parts of the battle. It would be up to Team Seven to deal with Darui and the Kumo nin who had broken through.

Darui called out, "When I didn't see clones manning the walls I assumed you were out dealing with Iwagakure. Is Hatake with you too?"

Naruto smiled at the attempt to gather information. He wasn't going to play those games with such a dangerous opponent. In a flash he made one of his senjutsu filled clones pop and instantly became filled with nature chakra. His eyes changed and his body was filled with vitality despite the long run he had just completed.

Darui was a bit surprised that the boy had learned senjutsu like the Hokage. It would make him even more dangerous. Darui opened up with **Ranton: Reiza Sakasu **(Storm Release: Laser Circus). The destructive blasts of energy dissipated themselves on a purple barrier that had sprung up in front of Naruto.

When Darui's jutsu was spent Naruto blazed forward at speeds Darui had only seen from the Raikage or Killer B. Darui sliced at the last Namikaze who parried with a kunai and kicked out catching Darui in the ribs and sending him crashing into a building.

'That kick hurt more than the great toad's.'

Without hand seals Darui created a Raiton clone and then used Kawarimi and suppressed his chakra. If he couldn't deal with the boy head one he would use the shinobi art of stealth and misdirection.

As intelligent as Darui was he was ignorant about some of the facts of sage mode. Naruto never lost track of him due to his enhanced senses. Naruto literally blew away the clone with** Futon: Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) but kept his senses focused on the real Darui. The master of the storm release used the howling wind as cover to dash in and strike down Naruto.

Kakashi's student instead met the attack with a **Futon: Shinkūjin** (Wind Release: Vacuum Blade). Since he did not have his chakra blade due to it shattering with the fight against Itachi he created his own with chakra. The sudden attack caught Darui off guard and he had to parry the oncoming wind blade instead of continuing his attack.

Darui saw Naruto fall back and suck in a great quantity of air. He intended to use a Kawarimi to escape the imminent wind storm but at the very last instant felt the tendril of foreign chakra within his system. In horror he realized he was in a genjutsu and overloaded his tenketsu points with chakra disrupting the attack. But it was too late; Naruto was not 10 feet away preparing a powerful Futon jutsu. He was instantly in Darui's face thrusting his wind blade into his chest.

Failure was something Darui had never known but as his heart was torn to pieces he felt it keenly.

Naruto look down on the fallen shinobi.

"You know Sakura if you weren't here this would have been a really hard fight."

Sakura gave her partner a warm smile, "We are Team Seven. I'll always be there to watch your back Naruto-kun."

Naruto grinned at the additional kun added to his name and used a shunshin to throw himself into the thick of the army of Kumo shinobi trying to fight his clones.

*****BREAK*****

With the seventh gate open Gai had every edge in their battle. He already was the more skilled in taijutsu but now he had strength and speed that surpassed the Raikage. The only thing that kept the Raikage alive was his **Raiton no Yoroi** (Lightning Release Armor). And even that had its limits. Every devastating blow and spine crushing kick that the armor protected him from drained a massive chunk of chakra.

If he had the chakra of an average jōnin the first two blows would have finished it. But since he had chakra that was equivalent to that of a tailed beast he survived the unstoppable barrage. The Raikage moved fully into defensive mode. He backed up instead of striking out. He dodged instead of blocked. He created separation every chance he got. The Raikage was outmatched currently but if he could hold on the price of the gates would give him the victory.

Gai felt his body protesting and his muscles being ripped to shreds. He had to end it now before the power of the gates left him a broken mess. Gai feinted with a kick that then turned it into a sweep and an elbow to the chest pinning the Raikage to the ground. In a split second he jumped up and at a point blank range used **Hirudora** (Daytime Tiger). With nothing but the power of condensed air from his ferocious punch the shockwave slammed into the Raikage with immense power.

The blast crushed the Raikage into the earth and the ground exploded outward in all directions. The lethal pressure killed shinobi too close to the fight and continued on into the walls of Konoha. Tsunade had kept an eye on the fight and saw what was about to happen. She had reacted and called for her summon to interpose herself between them and the blast. Lady Katsuyu obeyed and took the blast head on protecting Neji, Tenten, Asuma and her mistress.

The walls of Konoha even with their dispersal seals couldn't fully contain the massive shockwave and cracked in a few places as they shuddered. Scores of Kumo shinobi had been pulped by the blast and the giant slug had taken significant damage to her flesh but those who she had sheltered were safe.

The Raikage felt his chakra levels drop to their lowest point since childhood. His armor crackled around him barely maintaining its shape. He gazed up from the crater he was laying in at Maito Gai, the world's greatest taijutsu master. The green beast of Konoha was a near unstoppable force. But now that force was spent. The aura around him was fading and he was breathing heavily trying to drink in air.

"You are strong Gai. It was an honor to have fought you but this is the end. Your village must fall."

Gai looked to the sunset. He was straining to stand upright. Tsunade might be able to get to him and carry on the battle with the Raikage. But there was still an army and the Tsuchikage was still ravaging his village. The flames of youth still burned brightly in his veins. He had more to teach his precious Lee. But now before the sun set on his youthful vigor it was time to for him to showcase the true climax of the springtime of youth.

The Raikage looked on with horror as Gai stabbed himself with his own thumb in the chest and opened **Shimon** (Gate of Death). A flaming aura of red steam billowed around Gai as his body reached the absolute height of human potential. The Raikage stood stunned at what he was seeing. The Raikage instantly put his hands up crossing them over his front realizing that Gai's next attack could very well kill him.

Moving at a speed that the Raikage could not even begin to follow Gai appeared behind the Raikage and lashed out with **Sekizō** (Evening Elephant). The first of five blows punched the Raikage with enough force to send him flying at a speed that ruptured the sound barrier. But before he even moved two inches the next punch crashed into him. And the next and then the final two punches in even less time than it had taken the first. A vacuum of pressurized air added even more damage to the Raikage's Raiton defense.

The Raikage tumbled hundreds of feet as his jutsu failed him. His body was utterly spent and he could just barely lift up his head and see Gai's next and ultimate attack. Gai was naked as his clothes had long since been burnt to a crisp. Red cracks arced over his skin as it began to melt and fall off his body. Agony beyond comprehension was ignored by the noble green beast of Konoha. Blazing forward he put his all into the final kick of his life; the forbidden taijutsu **Yagai** (Night Guy).

The speed of the attack distorted space around him and the descending strike took on the shape of a dragon's head.

The attack ended the Raikage. The terrifying force of the blow vaporized his skin before even connecting and once it did connect the shockwave liquefied his organs and shattered every bone in his body. Mercifully the attack happened with such blinding speed the Raikage was dead before even feeling it. Gai's leg shattered in the process and Tsunade who was watching with a heavy heart was glad that the attack was pointed away from Konoha. The earth groaned in agony as Gai's kick created a tsunami of earth that buried hundreds of Kumo shinobi.

Gai lay there smiling at the sunset as his body turned to ash and blew into the wind.

**AN: **Well I'm sure I'll be flamed for this but I want to lay out my case. Before I do that… just a few thoughts from the author.

I'm not really happy about the Ōnoki fight – trying to showcase genius Nara tactics was taxing. If anyone has some other ideas I'm open to making some adjustments to it.

An earlier review said that Jiraiya was being portrayed as weak. I disagree; it is just that the anime places a HUGE emphasis on speed over almost anything else. As written if both participants start from a hundred feet away the Raikage wins against any living Kage. He would still lose against other speed freaks (prior Kage) but Mei, Ōnoki, Tsunade and Gaara don't stand a chance. If you let people start with summons out or Ōnoki flying in the air it might changes things… maybe. He could always evade with his superior chakra reserves for longer than all but Tsunade can keep on fighting.

So yes Jiraiya even in sage mode is slightly less strong than the Raikage. It doesn't mean he's weak he's still quite the beast.

And now on to Gai, everything I said about the Raikage applies also to Gai only more so. If you have read the Manga you know Gai in the 8th gate is something that completely dwarfs any of the living Kage to an absolutely ridiculous level. Him being alive makes any climactic future clash in this story lose meaning. After all the 'BBEG' can always get rocked by Gai, albeit at the cost of his life. Now with him out of the way that is not an option.

I could have weakened the 8 gates but considering it is canon and he is a fan favorite I kept the power and wrote it out of the story here by what I think was an amazingly awesome death scene. As always I appreciate your reviews even if you disagree.

Updated RIP list:

Shizune

Shibi Aburame

Kotetsu

Izumo

C

Genma

Hiashi

Gai

Raikage

Homura

Darui

Ōnoki


	51. Chapter 50: Invasion Part V

**AN: **Wow! I was very pleasantly surprised by the number of positive reviews in the last chapter. Thank you guys – you all rock!

Special thanks to GJMEGA for beta work!

**Chapter 50:** Invasion Part V

In the remaining few minutes of sage mode Naruto devastated the Kumo shinobi. The speed and force of his attacks were devastating. This was Kage level power smashing through primarily chūnin opponents.

Sakura wasn't idle either. Her genjutsu was not used to distract opponents from her teammate's attack. Unlike with Darui these shinobi could not defend themselves against the Namikaze onslaught. Instead her techniques caused Kumo shinobi to fight each other.

Blood ran down the streets of Konoha as they killed scores of shinobi in the span of those few minutes. While senjutsu enhanced Naruto was the main killer his clones helped out significantly. Kumo's shinobi were perhaps fighting their worst possible opponent. Kenjutsu specialized shinobi lost to the clone's superior speed. Raiton ninjutsu was countered by the clone's Futon abilities. A massacre was occurring and with Darui defeated the attacking shinobi broke and ran.

The retreat wasn't an all-out flight. It was orderly and several brave Kumo nin stood defiantly to try to slow down the slaughter while their comrades ran. Naruto saw them off by creating another 50 clones and had them give chase.

Naruto felt clones pop from further within Konoha. He turned to Sakura and said, "Pervy sage is hurt and Ibiki has called the last of the reserves to help fend off the shinobi who burst through our central gate. They are our next target."

Sakura nodded and they were off to help another part of the battle field.

*****BREAK*****

The shinobi who had witnessed the death of their Raikage were shell shocked. Some were simply stunned into inaction. Others fell to their knees in despair. Konoha had taken away their Kage.

Tsunade marched out of the walls of Konoha and shouted out in a strong voice, "I am Tsunade Senju! Your most powerful shinobi has been killed. Hundreds if not thousands of your comrades are dead because of this foolhardy attack. Leave this land and you will live. Or you can face me and die!"

Her killing intent erupted. Her anger at the loss of a man who had a will of fire that had literally turned him to ashes gave strength to that killing intent. Some ran in terror while others froze, rooted in place. Most however simply backed away. Their Raikage was dead and one of the Sannin stood before them. Their other S class asset was on the other side of the battle field. Perhaps it was best to withdraw for now.

Orders were given and the Kumo shinobi backed away from Konoha as messages went out to the other parts of the battle field. As correspondence went back and forth it was soon learned that the entire left side of the attack on Konoha had been shattered. Darui was dead and Team Seven had arrived. Several of the jōnin tried to figure out who was still alive to take command now that the Raikage and his strong right arm were dust in the wind.

Atsui was one of the few of the Raikage's inner circle that was still alive and he was badly wounded. He was missing an arm and had lost a considerable amount of blood. He was aware enough to relay orders. It was time to retreat.

While they had been close to breaking Konoha they simply had no one left to reliably take on the likes of Tsunade or Naruto. Numbers were still technically in their favor but casualties had been atrocious. More than half of the shinobi who had come to destroy Konohagakure were dead. The sun had set and in the darkness the Kumo shinobi slinked away like beaten dogs, utterly demoralized and defeated.

*****BREAK*****

Samui had marched her army and would strike at the Fire Daimyo's seat of power on that very night. Another night of treachery, betrayal and further losses would only weaken them. Hundreds of shinobi would not be able to participate in the fight and over a thousand of the Lightning Daimyo's soldiers were in the same situation.

But now the city was before them. No great wall surrounded it like Konoha due to its size. It was the most populous city in Hi no Kuni. Today she would bring it to its knees and cripple the country that housed Konohagakure.

Because she was wary about traps she sent in the Lightning Daimyo's soldiers in first. To some it would seem to be cruel to throw away lives like that but this was war and losing her best fighters would be foolish. The soldiers marched into the city and were attacked by shinobi who ruthlessly cut them down. It wasn't so much a fight as it was a slaughter.

Samui was troubled by the fact that there hadn't seemed to be any traps trigger. Had the Konoha forces been too busy harassing her army to plan for the defense? She was unsure of the best course of action and in the interim more soldiers died to the relatively small amount of shinobi facing them.

Finally she decided to send in her shinobi. Word reached her shortly afterward that the enemy ninja had melted back into the city. Her forces probed deeper into the city and began squaring off against the Fire Daimyo's soldiers. It was the enemy's turn to be slaughtered. Things were progressing well and the enemy didn't seem to be able to mount a significant resistance.

'Maybe they opted to flee with the royals and let the city fall? Disastrous to their economy but they would still have leadership over their country.'

And then explosions rocked the earth and plumes of fire roared up from the city signaling the death of scores of loyal Kumo shinobi. She had been wrong – they were not abandoning the city they were going to fight tooth and nail and use every filthy trick they could to kill the invading army even if they destroyed half the city with it!

*****BREAK*****

Danzō knew that the best moment to strike was when confusion and uncertainty were at its peak. As the flames devoured soldier and shinobi alike he unleashed his Futon jutsu to fan the flames into the face of the invaders. The fire storm roared out of control within the city just as he had planned.

At the same time his elite ROOT forces were striking down the shinobi who were not hit by the fiery flames. They were led by Sai and his **Choju Giga** (Super Beast Imitating Drawing) that summoned a small army of deadly animals. Behind him were his elites Torune and Fū. One had his kikaichu that would lead to a shinobi's death with just a touch and the other was more than a little skilled with a blade. The three and the rest of ROOT behind them cut down the surprised Kumo nin who had been butchering the Fire Daimyo's soldiers.

After causing the fire to spread even further Danzō played his next card.

"**Kuchiyose no Jutsu" **(Summoning Technique)

The massive Baku appeared and immediately added his own considerable strength to ROOT. The massive beast with its razor sharp tiger claws could crush and slash with impunity. To make matters even worse his ability to manipulated wind chakra made their Raiton attacks practically worthless.

Danzō himself entered the fray with a vitality that belied his age. His speed with his wind powered blade was impressive. Even against shinobi who were experienced with kenjutsu his skill was disturbing. A man of his age simply should not have been capable of moving so fast.

The leader of ROOT didn't change his outward expression but he knew he had Hashirama's cells to thank for his endurance and spryness. Without them he would still be able to fight but not at the elite jōnin level he was currently using.

The six guardian shinobi under the command of Chion Akimichi also attacked in the confusion. Novices did not make guardian shinobi and they too played a part in the massacre of the Kumo shinobi. The city had turned into a slaughterhouse for the invading army.

*****BREAK*****

The level headed commander of the invasionary force was close to losing her cool. By all accounts the force that had gone into the city was now being slaughtered without mercy by Konoha's ANBU. A massive summon that she wasn't even aware Konoha had access to was rampaging and hundreds of loyal shinobi lay dead. The Daimyo's soldiers were breaking and defeat loomed if something wasn't done.

"Omoi, Karui, you two are with me. We are dealing with a small number of elite shinobi. Once we take care of them the rest of the army can finish the job."

Karui acknowledged the order with a grim look. It was hell on earth inside the city.

Omoi on the other hand replied with, "But what if we make matters worse? What if a surprise attack is just waiting for the troops out here? We could be playing right into…"

Samui silenced him with a look. There was no time for his usual antics. The three raced into the burning city. Their first opponent was obviously of Akimichi descent as he towered above the buildings and lay waste around him with a massive war hammer. A very un-shinobi like weapon Samui thought as she drew her tanto.

Her team operated flawlessly, demonstrating why the Raikage had entrusted them with this secondary objective. While Omoi distracted the massive giant with a flashy Raiton ninjutsu Karui cut through the back of his knee with a vicious swipe.

Chion bellowed and crashed into the ground. Despite the suddenness of the attack and the fact that he was falling backward he still managed to strike out with his hammer and nearly splattered Karui. However with that weapon now out of the way it meant the already in motion Samui had easy access to bury her tanto into his neck finishing the leader of the **Shugonin** **Junishi** (Twelve Guardian Ninja).

Around them they saw the bodies of countless Kumo shinobi as well as several other guardian shinobi that were identifiable by their sashes.

Before they could begin to advance further they had to dodge away from a swarm of air bullets that shattered the earth all around them.

The man the Raikage had once called the true snake of Konoha was before them.

"Samui, I trust you have enjoyed your march through Hi no Kuni?"

'This is the man responsible for all the hardship my shinobi and the soldiers faced. This is the man that makes even a Kage weary.'

Keeping her legendary cool she calmly prepared herself.

"Shall we?" The old man's voice was mocking.

She gave a nod and as one team Samui struck out at the **Shinobi** **no** **Yami** (The Shinobi of Darkness).

*****BREAK*****

Fuyu used her skill as an infiltration specialist to escape the village intact. She had wanted to keep searching for her brother's torturer but she had obligations. Getting out had been difficult but she had been successful when darkness fell.

She sought out who was in command and learned it had been Atsui, who was now unconscious. He was being treated by the medical nin for blood loss. Fuyu quickly brought herself up to speed with the situation. The news was grim, over half of their invasionary force was dead or missing. The Raikage was dead. Darui was dead. Konoha still stood strong before them. While they had killed a great many Leaf shinobi only one of the S class threats were dead.

This boded quite poorly for the continued war effort. The latest word from Samui was that she was attacking the capital in a night assault. The attack would be underway at the moment and it would be critical for it to succeed. Konoha had a large portion of their shinobi within the city as well as most of the village's elite which hopefully meant the Fire Daimyo was poorly guarded.

With a sigh she said, "Get the wounded ready. We need to get out of Hi no Kuni. Send a message to Samui's force to do as much damage as she can and to cripple the city before retreating back with us to Kumo. Once Konoha has licked their wounds they will attack with a vengeance. We must be ready."

And ready they would need to be. A new Kage would have to be selected and the obvious choice was now dead. And once that Kage was selected he or she would have to craft a winning strategy against Konoha.

'There will be more chances in this war Mitarashi. I'll cross blades with you if it is the last thing I do.'

*****BREAK*****

Zetsu reported the news to Pain, the nominal leader of the Akatsuki.

Pain was greatly displeased to learn of Han's passing. Their plan would be years delayed now. And Itachi dying was also surprising. Pain had been warned about Itachi's odd behavior by Madara but the near flawless shinobi's death was still counted as a shock.

After Zetsu left Madara made an appearance.

"I am disappointed as well. The remaining jinchuuriki must be captured and secured quickly so this type of disaster does not occur again."

Pain watched Madara with his Rinnegan. The man had been responsible for putting Pain on this path and his council was appreciated.

"The eight tails will be easier to obtain than the nine tails. The others will gather the six tails in short order. I will personally deal with the Hachibi and then the Kyūbi."

Madara shook his head, "A fine plan except for the Kyūbi. Do not underestimate him or his sensei."

Even the Rinnegan could give no clues about Madara's emotions. And yet Pain sensed a rare disquieting hesitation behind the orange mask Madara wore. If it were anyone else Pain would have thought it was fear.

Obito, who was the man behind the mask of Madara, was in fact feeling a tendril of that fear. He too was disappointed about the setback in their plans but he worried about a direct encounter with Kakashi, his old teammate.

Kakashi was a shinobi that only ever revealed the power needed to complete the mission. How strong was he truly? Since Rin and Minato had died he had yet to fail a single mission. He had fought against overwhelming odds and faced down S class opponents and always lived to tell the tale. Outside of chakra exhaustion he didn't take significant injuries.

Pain himself would not be enough to take on Team Seven. It wasn't just Kakashi but also the rest of his team. They were this generation's Sannin and put together with their genius sensei they were all but unstoppable.

He would have to think about how they would have to be dealt with. A frontal assault even with the power Pain wielded would likely be met with total failure. If the six paths of Pain failed it would be time to bring back the real Madara. But Obito was not ready to play second fiddle yet.

'Hmm Pain is prideful but if he were open to letting the rest of the Akatsuki assist that should be enough.'

Pain had remained quiet after Madara's warning.

Obito spoke again, "Go – bring back the eight tails and we will discuss how to best handle the Kyūbi after."

*****BREAK*****

Team Samui did an all-out blitz against Danzō. Omoi did not use Raiton jutsu this time due to seeing their opponent utilize Futon jutsu earlier. Instead he joined Samui and Karui in an all kenjutsu onslaught.

When faced with three attackers the logical move was to move toward one opponent and attack them while moving away from the others. If one was skilled and quick enough he could even the odds before the other two could flank him.

Danzō did not do this. He stayed perfectly stationary as Omoi struck first. Danzō parried the blade with his own Futon generated one. Karui came in a fraction of a second later and thrust Danzō through the gut with her katana. With his free hand Danzo grabbed her arm and then stabbed his wind blade into her body. Samui hadn't expected Danzo to get stabbed by Karui but was close enough to push the wind blade away from a fatal wound on her subordinate. Instead the wind chakra slashed through Karui's shoulder instead of her heart. Samui earned an elbow to the nose for her troubles and Omoi took the opening to slash into Danzō's side.

Samui and Karui were injured with Karui being far more damaged by the attack but they had done it, they had killed the bastard. Or so they thought.

Danzō had actually used Izanagi to completely erase all the damage, turning illusion into reality. Appearing unharmed he instantly used **Futon: Shinkuha** (Wind Release: Vacuum Wave). Blades of wind sang through the air cutting at all three of the enemy jōnin.

Samui flattened herself to the ground to avoid the waves of air while Omoi tried to deflect with his blade. He was only partially successfully in the endeavor as the wind currents weren't made of one solid substance. If a three foot wave of wind was cut it would cause the chakra to dissipate somewhat but at the edges the wind current could still cut. His forehead, arm and leg were all cut in the attack. Karui, already wounded and still shocked at Danzō disappearing, failed to stop the attack and her jugular was sliced open.

As Karui bled out, Samui dashed forward leading with her tanto. Danzo was impressed with her kenjutsu and could see why she was given command of the Kumo nin attacking the capital. Her strikes were deadly and precise and were a perfect representation of the Kumogakure kenjutsu style.

Omoi on the other hand had rushed over to Karui's side in an attempt to save her. He cauterized the gaping slash in her neck and then shoved a plasma pill into her mouth but it was all for naught. Karui died and Omoi had lost his teammate.

Danzō hadn't expected to have to lose a 2nd Sharingan eye but with the numbers still against his force he needed to be done with his current opponents sooner rather than later. Danzō didn't block the next strike, instead he stabbed forward right as she slashed at his midsection. His Futon powered blade did not strike flesh as Samui had backed off of her attack after seeing what had happened earlier in the fight.

Danzō now had the edge in the fight as Samui would only deliver a killing blow if she couldn't be attacked in return. This allowed Danzō to cease to worry about defense and just focus on powering through her guard.

Omoi reentered the battle and Danzō lunged forward against Samui forcing her to back away. Danzō then turned and slashed down at the oncoming Omoi who was now focusing on revenge not on battle tactics. Omoi cleanly decapitated Danzō but took a strike to the chest in return. Both bodies fell to the ground but Danzō's disappeared as another Sharingan eye closed from underneath his sleeves.

Samui had shouted a warning to Omoi but either he had disregarded it or hadn't heard. Samui saw both of her trusted companions slain before this seemingly unstoppable enemy.

"How are you doing this? I'm not in a genjutsu. How?"

Danzo titled his head slightly, like Kakashi he wasn't a fool. He would not be explaining his kinjutsu to her.

"You don't really expect me to answer that do you?"

Samui narrowed her eyes and rushed in with a headlong charge. Her chakra however was already gathered and she performed a hand seal free Kawarimi right before they clashed. She replaced herself with Omoi's katana that was only a foot away from Danzō and rushed in close. Her arm grabbed Danzō's sword arm and her tanto stabbed into his gut. Danzō's free hand revealed a kunai fused with wind energy and he used it to stab at Samui who blocked the hand with the elbow of the hand that wielded the tanto. She spun away from Danzō and watched as yet again he faded from view and reappeared utterly unharmed.

The elderly leaf nin was annoyed. He had failed to do any harm and the exchange had cost him a third Sharingan eye. Information was his forte and he knew Samui had a strong if short mission record. It was likely he was facing Kumo's forth strongest shinobi behind the Raikage, Killer B and Darui. The kenjutsu duel was not going as well as he had hoped but he had two more tricks yet to play.

**AN: **This entry was slightly delayed because I was out of town on the weekend visiting the Texas Renaissance Festival outside of Houston. My wife did her cosplay of Kakashi and WOW there are a lot of Naruto fans out there.

If anyone is in the Houston area I'd highly recommend you go; they have a wide variety of fantastic shows and the costumes are awesome. This year they introduced a new show called The Barbarian Bombshells that quickly became my personal favorite.

All right enough about me and my reasons for late updates – please review!


	52. Chapter 51: Invasion Finale

**AN**: I'm getting so close to my 1K review goal I can taste it! Thank you to everyone who has supported this fiction with reviews and follows.

Special thanks to GJMEGA for his beta work!

**Chapter 51:** Invasion Finale

Tenten had collapsed to her knees. Her sensei was gone. She barely heard Tsunade's threat nor did she see the Kumo nin's retreat. He was gone. Yes he had annoyed her to distraction but he had been her mentor for almost four years. Even when no longer part of his team he had still invited her to his youthful pre-training work outs. How she wished she had gone to more of them now.

Neji struggled to maintain the stoic Hyūga composure. Neji had often thought his sensei was a fool, a dreamer, a man who spent his time and effort trying to produce a shinobi out of a talentless boy with no chakra to his name. But Neji's eyes had begun to see far more.

Gai was a man who spoke his beliefs and adhered to them perfectly. No hypocrisy was found in him. He never gave up, never gave in and always sought to help others. He trained relentlessly, far more than other shinobi, only to be mocked for his attitude and attire. And yet he never let that bother him in the slightest.

Had fate decreed that he would die this day? No Neji thought, it was not fate it was Gai's will. A truer embodiment of the Will of Fire could be no find nowhere in Hi no Kuni. Neji silently thanked his sensei for teaching him this final lesson.

Tsunade snapped both of them out of their thoughts.

"I know your pain but there are still people to save. Identify any shinobi in need of immediate medical attention and bring them over. Sort the others by major and minor injury."

They both nodded and forced their limbs to move. There was work to be done and until the work was finished the memory of their sensei would not allow them to give in to exhaustion or grief.

*****BREAK*****

Few knew it but Danzō was also highly skilled in fuinjutsu. He personally sealed every one of his ROOT agents and he had also experimented with other less than ethical seals. He had looked on in interest as young Haruno experimented with fuinjutsu and grew in her craft.

Some of her ideas were pure genius, particularly using pre-prepared fuinjutsu formula on kunai to create **Kekkai: Yon Koatari** (Barrier Art: Four Parts). And that was how he intended to the end the fight.

During his next clash with Samui he threw a trio of kunai at the rushing shinobi. The last was dropped right behind him. As one would expect from a shinobi of her talent she easily deflected and dodged the paltry attack. But that was all part of the plan. Using ninja wire he attached to those kunai he moved them in position with one hand while he exchanged blows with his other, keeping her deadly tanto away from his flesh.

Once they were in position he pushed chakra into his feet and leapt backwards. In midair he completed the hand signs and the barrier sprung up around the two of them. The enclosed area made Samui wary and she looked for signs of weakness in it.

Danzō's finale was to trigger the fuinjutsu seals on the handles of the kunai anchoring the barrier. The formula had been written on the blade meaning the handles were on the inside of the trap. That formula was a simple storage seal that discharged dozens of the most powerful explosive tags he could make. Samui instantly saw the danger but there was little she could do as the explosions detonated and obliterated everything trapped in the barrier including Danzō and Samui.

The fourth Sharingan eye on his arm closed and Danzō reappeared as the barrier fell after the explosion had spent its power.

'This fight was wasteful and there is more work to be done.'

The leader of ROOT left the scene and added his power to the battles raging around the city. Without a leader the enemy shinobi forces were soon in disarray. In ones and then in twos the soldiers and Kumo shinobi began retreating out of the fiery hell hole that had been the shining jewel of Hi no Kuni.

As the battle wrapped up he replaced the seal on his arm to conserve chakra. The battle had gone well however there were heavy losses. Twenty of his ROOT shinobi were dead including Torune. He could care less about the Fire Daimyo's soldiers or the civilians caught in the crossfire.

"Send word to the Hokage, the Fire Daimyo lives and the capital stands. The enemy has been routed and we stand ready to pursue at his command."

*****BREAK*****

Dawn had arrived in Konoha. The Hokage had recovered somewhat from his wounds and was busy coordinating the village. The causalities had been horrendous. The large clans; Akimichi, Hyūga, Sarutobi and Aburame had been decimated. Over 70% of the fighting population of those clans had been killed in the conflict.

However most of the civilians were safe and causalities among the genin were thankfully small. The destruction of the hospital was the leading cause of civilian and genin death. It was also the death that Jiraiya felt most keenly. He had placed Shizune there deliberately so she would be away from the danger as a favor to Tsunade. And because of it she was dead.

If things had been different she could have easily died elsewhere on the battlefield but the gnawing guilt would not go away. He pushed it from his mind as he had things that needed to be done.

Information was trickling in from the other battle sites across Hi no Kuni. Danzō had been successful in stopping the invasion however half of the city had been destroyed. The cost of repairs would be astronomical. In the northern part of Hi no Kuni villages and towns had been raided and destroyed. **Shimogakure** (Village Hidden in Frost) and **Moyagakure** (Village Hidden in the Haze) had much to answer for. From what he had learned they had already felt part of the price with many of their top shinobi being assassinated by Kurenai's old team.

Discussions would have to take place with Sunagakure to ensure they would honor their alliance and assist with Iwa. With Ōnoki dead they may be willing to settle for peace. Having Suna openly announce their support of Konoha may in fact force them to the peace table after the failed invasion. It was a top priority.

Internal politics would also be weighing on him. Hiashi and Shibi had both been the head of their respective clans. In Shibi's case it would be a simple matter of Shino taking up his father's mantle. Assuming the boy survived the bitter fighting with Shimogakure and Moyagakure that was. Jiraiya hadn't received word that he had fallen but it wouldn't surprise him given all of the other bad news.

The Hyūga clan was another matter entirely. The clan elders were not approving of Hinata, especially since the girl openly advocated the end of the **Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu** (Caged Bird Seal). It would be difficult for her to be supplanted as her improvement over the years had made her the heir presumptive again but the elders held the power in the clan.

All that aside, he also needed to ensure the Kumo shinobi intended to retreat from Hi no Kuni completely. He sent out summons for several shinobi who would be good for the task. They arrived in short order.

Naruto, Sakura, Anko, Iruka, Neji and Asuma entered Jiraiya's office.

"By all appearances it seems Kumo has had enough of this invasion. I want you to make sure of it. Trail their forces and ensure they leave Hi no Kuni."

Anko twirled a kunai, "Want us to take a few more out while we are at it?"

Jiraiya shook his head, "No. We need them out of Hi no Kuni until we can determine what Suna will do. If we give them cause to fight they might dig in and cause even more damage to the country. Let them leave. However if they turn back towards the capital or Konoha you are free to harass them to your heart's content."

Jiraiya looked to Naruto, "Naruto you are young but you have your clones and we will be exchanging messages via toad summoning every two hours. I am giving you command."

Anko and Asuma had more experience however they both knew Jiraiya was probably grooming Naruto as the next Hokage. Furthermore Naruto was actually stronger than either one of them. The 15 year old was definitely S class.

They nodded and moved out. Jiraiya hated seeing the weary faces. Not even Naruto's usual boisterous smile was there. Too many had died for a joke or a brash statement to part from the jinchuuriki's lips.

'Damn you Kumo, it's only been three years since we suffered an invasion from Suna and Oto.'

He also had Inoichi send word to Kakashi's group in Takigakure to split the healthy shinobi in two. One half would stay with their wounded brethren while the other half was to start cleaning out any of the Frost and Haze shinobi terrorizing northern Hi no Kuni.

Jiraiya was exhausted but he still created a pair of Kage Bunshin to go out into different parts of the village encouraging everyone. At times like this the people needed to see their Hokage and see that he was in control.

*****BREAK*****

The team of six headed out. Shortly after they left the gates Naruto created fifty clones and had them scatter in multiple directions. The team slowed as they allowed the clones to gain some distance. The clone's purpose was reconnaissance and as soon as one popped Naruto would gain those memories.

As they walked Asuma turned to Naruto.

"Word has it you and Sasuke killed Itachi."

"We did, it was a tough battle though. I lost my chakra katana and Sasuke nearly burned out his chakra coils."

Asuma flicked away his cigarette, "Your team seems to be real good at killing Akatsuki; Hidan, Kakuzu and now Itachi. Remind me to stick close to you guys so I can get my share."

Naruto knew that the chain smoking jōnin still had a fierce desire to avenge Kurenai. He couldn't blame him really. He had a fire in his belly over what happened to Konoha. He didn't necessarily want to go out killing every Kumo shinobi he came across but it sure would feel good to pound a few more.

"I'll mention it to pervy sage."

Iruka head snapped, "Naruto! He's the Hokage!"

Normally Iruka's lecturing would have produced a chuckle but now so soon after the battle Naruto just nodded absently.

Neji flickered on his Byakugan momentarily to make sure there were no threats that had gotten past the Naruto clones. The Hyūga intended to do this every few minutes for added security. Not that the likelihood existed of six jōnin caliber shinobi being caught unawares but it never hurt to be thorough.

Anko sensing the grim mood decided to lighten it up.

"Hey Neji-san you can use your eyes to see through trees and buildings right?"

"Hai, my eyes see all."

Anko put on a troubled expression, "What do you mean by all? Do you mean you can see through clothes as well?"

Neji stumbled. The Byakugan _could_ see through clothing. For obvious reasons this information wasn't widely spread.

Asuma's cigarette dropped from his mouth as he thought through the implications. Sakura blushed and Iruka looked angry.

"I would… never… I mean… why did you bring this up?"

Anko laughed and soon enough everyone else joined in as well. Afterwards Asuma muttered, "Lucky bastard."

Watching a Hyūga lose his poise was always good for a laugh and the somber mood did lighten up a bit. Naruto received his first report from the clones.

"Nothing yet, looks like Kumo really is running."

Naruto made a few more clones to make sure there were no gaps in the wide net he was spreading and settled in for a long day.

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi had received the Hokage's message. It had orders and news. Gai was dead. Death was no stranger to Kakashi; his father, his teammates, his sensei and now one of his oldest friends. All had been taken by the grave.

'I suppose what they say is true. You will never miss something more than when you can no longer have it. I will miss our spars and your ridiculous proclamations my friend.'

Kakashi had learned his lesson from the past. He would not mope and grieve excessively. Gai would not have wanted that anyway. He had gone out in a blaze of glory in the prime of his youth. The thought of Gai growing old was somehow disturbing. And taking out the Raikage? The legend of Konoha's noble green beast would be told for generations.

He gathered Shikamaru's team, Sasuke and Hana Inuzuka.

"News from the village, we drove off the invaders. The Raikage and the Tsuchikage are dead."

Lee leapt into the air, "Yosh!"

Kakashi grimaced behind his mask. "There were casualties, many casualties."

He turned to Choji, Shikamaru and Ino, "All of you have lost loved ones but your parents are alive. Chōza took severe burns on his arms that may impact his ability to continue service but with Tsunade there I think he'll be fine."

The three looked relieved and saddened. Cousins, uncles, aunts, possibly even nephews and nieces could be dead. But at least their parents were safe.

He turned to Lee. "Lee… I want you to know the man who took down the Raikage was your sensei and my friend. I'm sorry to say that the act cost him his life."

Lee looked devastated. His expressive face was filled with sorrow as he hastily turned and ran from the group so that they would not see his tears.

"I better go after him… but before I do we have another mission. Hana I need an inventory of all shinobi without significant injuries. Take half of them and enter Hi no Kuni and drive out any Haze and Frost shinobi you come across. I will remain here with Sasuke until he recovers along with the rest of the wounded."

Hana's eyes took on a deadly sheen, "We'll send them running back to their own borders."

Kakashi gave a few final instructions and then chased after Rock Lee. Kakashi knew better than others the dangers of facing grief alone. He would do what he could to make him know that Gai would want him to honor his memory by facing life in the same youthful way he did before.

*****BREAK*****

Baki had brought the letter from the Hokage to the council meeting. His heir Temari folded her arms across her chest. Kankurō looked interested and even eager. Other faces had mixed reaction. Sekka the chief medical nin was worried about war while Yūra one of the chief jōnin advisors to the Godaime Kazekage looked thoughtful.

Yūra spoke first, "It is in our village's best interest to honor our alliance with Konohagakure. If we were to betray them a second time we would carry the stigma of it for generations."

Temari snorted, "Standing idle isn't a betrayal. Going to war on behalf of Konoha after Konoha massacred most of our jōnin is a sick joke."

Kankurō rolled his eyes. "We were attacking them sis, when are you going to let it go? If the Kyūbi manifested here in our village and started killing people you would try to kill it."

Baki raised his hand to forestall the continuation of their long standing argument.

"This decision needs to be based on what is best for Suna not what grievances may or may not exist."

Sekka sighed, "Our shinobi will be going in to battle at a disadvantage. While we have built up our chūnin force from our genin ranks the number of jōnin level shinobi are still woefully limited."

Kankurō waved off the concern, "But we are being asked to fight with Iwa. Remember they are also hurting for jōnin after their failed attacks against Konoha."

Yūra added, "And speaking of failed attacks do we truly wish to upset Konoha? They killed the Raikage and the Tsuchikage! Their two Sannin yet live as does Kakashi. And their next generation shinobi looks to be just as powerful."

Temari looked around the room for any other allies. She wasn't Kazekage yet and if she made too big of a stink she risked having her ascension delayed or even cancelled.

"I see the wisdom of your council honored advisors. We will go to war and show the world that we are not the weakest of the five powers!"

The future Kazekage to be could be charismatic when she needed to be. In her heart of hearts she knew her brother was right. Konoha did no more than what any other village would have done. In fact they were far more merciful than many others. But still it gnawed at her that her brother died before he had a chance to live.

*****BREAK*****

Killer B had made is relatively easy on Pain and Konan. He knew through Sasori's excellent spy network that the Raikage had made the jinchuriki responsible for the defense of Kumogakure. That combined with the man's brashness meant there was little need to attack the entire village.

He had come in with the six paths and demanded Killer B to fight him or he would destroy the village. After killing a foolish pair of chūnin he had encountered the Raikage's brother. Despite the man's odd style of speech that made Pain question his intelligence he had proven to be a worthy adversary.

However the six paths overwhelmed him even as he made the partial transformation into his demonic form. The ability of the Naraka path to revive the other fallen paths was too difficult to overcome. Though in the future he thought it would be wise to better hide the Naraka path, possibly with the assistance of the **Chikushōdō** (Animal Path).

'A thought for another time.'

To their credit the Kumo shinobi tried to stop Pain from taking their defeated champion but their best weren't at the village and it was a pitiful slaughter. After scores of shinobi piled up around Pain the rest could only cower back from his power. A god had come to Kumo that day and he couldn't be denied.

'One step closer to bringing about true peace.'

*****BREAK*****

Several days had passed since the invasion. Naruto and his squad had just returned after successfully seeing the Kumo shinobi out of Hi no Kuni. The Haze and Frost shinobi had taken moderate losses and had several of their commanders assassinated. Once they heard of Kumo's failure they swiftly turned tail and ran alongside with them.

Kakashi and Danzō had also returned and they would be at the council meeting to plan Konoha's next move. He still didn't trust Danzō but the man had definitely come through. The Fire Daimyo was upset about the damage to his city but considering only 40 shinobi had turned away over 20 times their number he wouldn't complain too much.

Jiraiya had received good news from Baki. He would support the Leaf and begin raiding into Iwa territory. The issue of what to do with Kumo would be the next major decision. Though they had killed many of the attacking shinobi Kumo still outnumbered the Konoha forces. With the Raikage and Darui dead the Leaf held the advantage in S ranked nin. Only Killer B remained where once they had four. As a master spy he knew that not all of the most powerful shinobi were known to the wider elemental nations so caution was still warranted.

He was concerned about Tsunade. After learning about Shizune she had grown very quiet and buried herself in work. She had personally healed more injured shinobi than any ten other medical nin combined. It was a coping mechanism but even Tsunade had her limits. Eventually she would fully exhaust herself and have to face the reality of her apprentice's death.

Before the council meeting could begin he was interrupted by his secretary who asked, "Hinata Hyūga wishes to speak with you. Do you have time before the council session?"

"Yes I have a few minutes, bring her in."

Hinata walked in and bowed politely.

"Hokage-sama I request your aid in purging the village of a shameful practice."

"You mean the **Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu** (Caged Bird Seal)."

"Hai, it is nothing more than slavery. Scores of branch house members bled and died for this village. They deserve their freedom."

Jiraiya was sympathetic but the situation was complicated. There were reasons for the Caged Bird Seal. The first was that it protected the Byakugan. If the eyes could be taken and transplanted after death other villages would gain their powerful abilities. The second issue was the large size of the branch family. Even with most of their fighters dead the non combatants and the children represented scores of shinobi. If even one decided to leave Konoha the Byakugan could be spread to other villages. And finally the clans of Konoha had come to expect internal autonomy. It could sour relations with the Hyūga and their allies in the courts of the Fire Daimyo, to say nothing of the village itself.

'Actually it isn't that complicated at all.'

"Hinata you are absolutely right. I am the Hokage and the living embodiment of the Will of Fire, something the branch members of your house have demonstrated in abundance."

Hinata blinked in surprise. She had expected a discussion. Or perhaps a vague promise to look into the matter once the war had been settled.

"Hokage-sama you catch me off guard. I had expected resistance to the idea."

Jiraiya grinned, "You know I can't resist a pretty face."

'Bah, a year or two ago she would have been blushing and stuttering, damn you Kakashi for taking the fun out of life sometimes.'

Hinata looked at the Godaime levelly, "There are two things I need from you. The first is a way to undo the seal. It is not enough to prevent its use on future generations. Those afflicted by it must be saved. Secondly I have spoken with the elders and they are going to select another to be the clan head. I do not want power for my sake but my becoming the clan head is the only way I can ensure the branch families are protected."

"I'll have Haruno get to work on studying the seal right away. In the meantime I'll be hosting a celebration in honor of our victory here in two days time. There I'll make the announcement that you will lead the Hyūga."

Hinata bowed and she allowed the emotion she was feeling to show on her face, "Thank you again, this is more than I had hoped for."

Hinata left and Jiraiya entered the council chambers.

Present were Naruto Namikaze, Sasuke Uchiha, Asuma Sarutobi, Inoichi Yamanaka, Shikaku Nara, Kakashi Hatake, a clan elder from the Hyūga, Danzō Shimura, Shino Aburame, Hana Inuzuka, Tsunade Senju, Chōza Akimichi, Yakumo Kurama and Koharu Utatane. Trailing behind Jiraiya were two ANBU.

"We welcome Shino Aburame as the newest clan leader," Jiraiya spoke first.

The clan leaders nodded their heads. They would miss Shibi's rare but always insightful input. But by all accounts Shino would not be much different than his respected father.

"Thank you, our clan has suffered but remains ready to defend the village."

The Godaime spoke with authority, "This is the war council of Konoha. I bring news that the Kazekage has agreed to adhere to the alliance and will begin harrying Iwagakure."

That was good news for everyone.

"We have driven back the invaders but the price is high. The city of the Fire Daimyo is in ruins. Our own village has taken damage and other towns have been completely destroyed. Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Shimogakure and Moyagakure have declared war on Hi no Kuni. Now we decide how we will strike back."

Silence greeted the Hokage's pronouncement and Danzō filled it.

"The lesser villages are inconsequential. Kumogakure remains a threat, crush it and their alliance falls apart."

The Nara clan head stroked his chin, "We are still outnumbered and they will be on their own home territory. We cannot leave Hi no Kuni undefended against other attacks."

"They have more bodies to throw at us but all they have is one lone jinchuriki to do battle against team Kakashi. That team will obliterate him and carve a bloody path through all that are in the way," Danzō countered.

Kakashi gave him an eye smile, "That's assuming I agree with your plan Shimura-san."

Koharu turned to face him and asked, "What do you propose?"

Hatake paused allowing all of the attention to gather on him, "Striking into the heart of **Kaminari no Kuni **(Land of Lightning) outnumbered and on disadvantageous terrain is too risky. We also don't know if Kirigakure will decide to make a move, our trade alliance has helped both of our nations but they aren't known as the Bloody Mist for nothing."

Asuma tapped his fingers on the wooden table, "Still haven't heard your plan Kakashi."

"We annihilate Moyagakure, raid its coffers and destroy it utterly as a shinobi village. We execute any adult shinobi from the village and recruit any of the children that we think won't betray us." He glanced at Inoichi, "With Inoichi's help of course. Those that don't pass his screening can be exiled."

The council reactions were mixed. Naruto's brow furrowed. Sasuke, Shino and Nara were impassive. Danzō hid a smile and Chōza looked unsettled. Yakumo and Tsunade looked appalled. Hana's face flickered through a mix of emotions while Inoichi pursed his lips.

Tsunade rose up angrily. "You bloody butcher! Attacking their village is part of war but to execute every adult shinobi? That goes too far!"

"My goal is to save lives at minimal cost to Konoha. Consider the ramifications of what this would do."

Shikaku made a humming sound and nodded, "Yes I see. After we annihilate Moyagakure we can threaten Shimogakure. Since Shimogakure is between Konoha and Kumo our enemy would have to move shinobi out of their lands to protect their ally. If Kumo does this we can attack without having to enter Kaminari no Kuni. Likely they won't even bother which will force Shimogakure to capitulate."

"Exactly and we send a powerful message to all the other villages. Konoha stood by its friends when it defended Takigakure and will annihilate her enemies. I wager the other small villages will flock to our banner."

"**Kusagakure** (Village Hidden in the Grass) has had good relations with us for some time now, they will probably be the first," Shino remarked. Kurenai had sacrificed her life to save her students AND complete the mission on behalf of Kusagakure. Kusagakure had paid Team Eight many a compliment for their unflinching devotion to duty.

Tsunade shook her head in disgust. "You'll still be executing people who have surrendered. Or shinobi too old to still fight. It is murder not war." She looked to her former teammate. "You can't seriously be thinking about doing this."

Jiraiya let out a sigh, "Tsunade-hime, the Haze and Frost have killed more civilians than they have shinobi. This is a form of justice; if the war is prolonged more will die."

The leader of ROOT cut in, "Hokage-sama why are we event debating this? We are shinobi. The village matters before all. If every single living creature had to die in their pathetic village to make one Konoha shinobi safer it would be well worth the cost."

"Maa, let's not get carried away. This isn't the time or the place to discuss your stark view of the world. I've put forth my proposal on the table as has Danzō; any other ideas?"

A few more ideas were tossed out. Chōza had thoughts about joining forces with Suna to defeat Iwagakure while Kumo was selecting a new Kage. Asuma suggested going after the Lightning Daimyo personally and Koharu presented a counter suggestion of targeting Shimogakure instead of Moyagakure.

The council debated the merits of the plan however when it came down to it Kakashi held the most influence. Naruto and Sasuke backed his plan even if Naruto had some personal qualms about the wholesale annihilation of an entire village. Shino had a great deal of personal respect for Kakashi and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio saw the wisdom in his plan. Tsunade wasn't happy at all.

"I will have no part in this Jiraiya! If you ask me to go on this mission I'm done with the Leaf."

Jiraiya shook his head, "No, the task will be given to others. With the hospital destroyed we need you to ramp up training of medical techniques and oversee some difficult cases."

Danzō wasn't thrilled with again not getting his way but he respected Kakashi's plan. Hatake had proven himself to be an able tactician who knew how to make hard choices. It might have sent a stronger message to kill all the noncombatants in Moyagakure but even Danzō understood reputation mattered in some arenas.

The war council had been convened and action would be taking place. Now all that remained was determining who would go.

"Asuma you will have command. Take Shikamaru's team, Neji, Anko and 100 chunin. Leave tomorrow at dawn."

Asuma wasn't thrilled with the job but it had to be done. And it would be good to work with Shikamaru again.

Jiraiya continued with the agenda, "Moving on to some internal issues. We'll be having a ceremony for those lost tonight. We will grieve but two days from now we will celebrate our victory that the sacrifice of so many has gained us."

They discussed some of the logistics of this before moving on.

"The last item for today has to do with Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke was embarrassed but like a true shinobi that was trained underneath Kakashi's wing he showed none of it to the assembled clan leaders.

"My clan must grow. I am the last Uchiha and one wife will not be enough to ensure the Sharingan remains a source of strength for Konoha. If any of you and your clans have daughters who wish to bear my children I will entertain proposals."

The return of the Sharingan would mean a great deal to the power of the village and many of the clan heads considered the matter. While most didn't have daughters of their own they had cousins and nieces who would be good matches and with the Uchiha's reputation there would be several volunteers.

Jiraiya concluded the meeting, "That's it for today. Team Kakashi and Tsunade please stay."

The rest of the clan heads filed out while Naruto, Tsunade and Sasuke remained seated.

Jiraiya noticed the young Aburame heir had left one of his bugs but he didn't mind him learning what he said next.

"Part of the reason I wanted you all to say in the village is to figure out what you are going to do with Itachi's eyes.

"What do you mean what are we going to with Itachi's eyes?" Tsunade asked slightly confused.

The last Uchiha replied, "Itachi didn't kill me when I was younger so I could advance my eyes. Once my eyes were sufficiently advanced he believed taking them from me would increase his power."

Tsunade grimaced in disgust.

"Hnn if my brother thought it would gain him more power he was probably right."

Jiraiya added, "There are a number of abilities Itachi possessed that if Sasuke could replicate them by taking his eyes he would be a much stronger shinobi."

"And you want me as the village's chief medical nin to oversee the operation and ensure there are no side effects?"

Kakashi nodded, "Precisely. We know Sharingan transplants can work since I have Obito's eye. A true Uchiha should have no problems accepting the eye. Since they are brothers it should be even easier."

"And what do we do with Sasuke's eyes?"

Sasuke shrugged, "For now keep them sealed in a high level stasis seal. If by using Itachi's powers my eyes also begin to weaken like Kakashi's eye then I have backups."

"When do you want to start?" Tsunade asked.

Kakashi answered, "As soon as possible. My team will need to be at its peak to end this war."

"We can complete the transplant as early as today then." Tsunade was grateful to have another project to work on to take her mind off of Shizune.

Jiraiya ended the meeting by saying, "Two days from now I am going to seat Hinata as head of her clan against the wishes of the elders. I want a strong show of support to cow the Hyūga main branch."

Tsunade smiled, "Finally something I can agree with. Those hidebound bastards are little better than slavers, Hinata will do some real good as their head of clan."

The lengthy meeting was over and Jiraiya needed to talk to Sakura about the new project he was going to be giving her. He hoped she would be up to the task because Kami knew he didn't have the time for it.

**AN:** I didn't feel like writing out Killer B vs. Pain after all of the fighting I've just written. Don't worry, Pain will definitely get some fight scenes before this over!

Also Nine Tailed Possession (my other Naruto story) is a thing – check it out and let me know what you think!


	53. Chapter 52: Life Goes On

**AN: **Getting closer to one thousand reviews!

Special thanks to GJMEGA for his awesome beta work.

**Chapter 52: **Life Goes On

Sakura was thrilled with her new project. Not only did the Hokage trust her with an important undertaking but it was also one that could help dozens of Konoha shinobi who had been marred with the seal of slavery simply due to who their parents were.

Kō Hyūga was a member of the branch family who had been asked by Hinata personally to help Sakura experiment on the seal. Kō realized what Hinata was trying to do and had thanked her profusely but had warned her about the ramifications of her actions. Kō had done his duty with the advice but would be glad to see the hated seal disappear. He knew there would be dangers; the Caged Bird Seal had never been broken.

"Fascinating," Sakura said.

Kō couldn't help but be curious. "What do you mean?"

"The seal is not just on the surface of the skin or attached to the eyes themselves. It is actually embedded deeply in your chakra network."

"That's a bad thing right."

"Oh yes. It will make things very difficult. There are multiple fail safes on the seal itself that make tampering with it… unadvisable."

Kō's expression fell. It had been too much to hope for anyway. If the seal could be easily defeated it would have served no purpose in protecting the Byakugan.

Sakura clicked her tongue when she saw his expression. "None of that now, it's our very first day and whatever I think of I'll run by the Hokage himself. He's probably the top fuinjutsu expert in the world at this point."

Kō lay there silently as the pink haired teenager made several notes.

"Hmm that might work… nope they thought of that too. Hmm."

After awhile Sakura said, "All right Kō you can go now. I've copied the formula on the seal. This is going to take some time but I promise you I'll do my best to get this off of you and the rest of the branch family."

As Hinata's bodyguard left, Sakura studied the seal.

'Kami, whoever designed this was a paranoid genius. The slightest change to the formula holding up any of the keystone matrices will instantly cause the seal to take full effect and kill the host.'

Sakura had some vague theories about how she could get around it but the level of complexity and preciseness made it nearly impossible. She rubbed her eyes and then saw the time.

'Crap, I'm going to be late!'

And she really didn't want to be late for her first date with Naruto. For now the **Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu** (Caged Bird Seal) would have to wait.

*****BREAK*****

Tsunade finished washing her hands and turned to Kakashi.

"The surgery is complete and Sasuke's original eyes have been sealed in a stasis scroll. The eyes immediately bonded with his chakra network. There should be no optical challenges."

"Thank you for your help Tsunade. Can Sasuke test their abilities right away or do you recommend waiting?"

Tsunade crossed her arms, "He just had surgery and before that he just got over a bout of chakra exhaustion. Yes as a medical nin I recommend him waiting!"

"Hai, I'll make sure he behaves for at least a day or so."

That wasn't exactly what Tsunade had in mind but she doubted the masked shinobi would listen. Tsunade was used to being the most powerful shinobi in the room but she had to wonder just how strong Kakashi was. The elite jōnin had been an amazing child prodigy. Everyone talked about Itachi's rise through the ranks but often forgot that it was Kakashi who made chūnin at age 6 compared to Itachi's 10. And that was before he had the Sharingan.

No, Tsunade decided she wouldn't want to tangle with Kakashi, she may have more stamina and chakra but his brand of lethality made that count for little.

"See that you do. There really is no telling how taxing these new Sharingan abilities might be on his chakra network. Try doing something in moderation for once."

Kakashi merely nodded and Tsunade walked away.

She needed a drink.

With the eye transplant complete she was short on projects to busy herself with. Chōza's arms were healing nicely, those that could be saved had been and those with longer lasting injuries like Ebisu were on a firm rehabilitation plan.

Now that work had given her a reprieve the memories of Shizune intermingled with the others that she had lost circled around her. And she couldn't have that. It was time to make her head delightfully fuzzy so that the reality could be pushed aside for another night.

*****BREAK*****

"So kid how was your date?" Jiraiya asked with a lecherous grin.

"It was fine you pervert," Naruto responded.

"Just fine? Hmm I may need to give you some personal tutoring."

Naruto was quite embarrassed but he refused to give the Hokage any satisfaction. He simply would not allow a blush to appear in his face or a more agitation to change his demeanor. Being a skilled shinobi meant he had full control over his body's reactions to embarrassment or any other emotion.

Jiraiya sighed theatrically, "Kakashi is a real killjoy."

Naruto gave the toad sage a grin, "If you must know it went great. We talked quite a bit and it ended with a hug. Sakura-chan isn't a Namikaze fan girl; she wants to know if we can build a true relationship."

Jiraiya let his forehead drop onto his desk.

"What?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"You are way too logical and analytical about it! Kakashi has corrupted all of you! Love it _supposed_ to be about emotion! You are almost sixteen; you should be spreading your wild oats not talking about settling down." Jiraiya moaned, "I really have failed you as a Godfather."

Naruto shrugged and finally said, "So other than critiquing my personal relationships why did you call me here?"

Jiraiya looked up at his best student's only child. While he might bemoan Naruto's attitude, he knew that Naruto was still impulsive and still prone to endearing moments of childlike wonder. Underneath Kakashi's shinobi training there was still a Naruto.

He couldn't even fault Kakashi; he trained three genin to become elite shinobi. A shinobi was a trained killer who served as mercenary. It was part of why Jiraiya wanted to bring lasting peace to the Elemental Nations. Kids shouldn't have to grow up to be like Kakashi.

"Your dream is to be Hokage and I want to start including you in my decision making. You have the acknowledgment of the village now. Your skills rank you as one of the most powerful shinobi in the village. Before I make you my official heir I want to see how you make Hokage level decisions."

Naruto had long dreamed of becoming Hokage. That dream had not changed much though he slowly was becoming less excited about it. The Hokage had to make the hard calls like who to send on missions that would likely lead to death. Or what to do with enemy villages like **Moyagakure** (Village Hidden in the Haze).

He still desired to follow in the footsteps of his father. He still wanted to take on the heavy burden himself so he could protect his precious people. But he was going into it clear eyed.

"Thank you Jiraiya, I know you have started to groom me for the position but I didn't think something like this would happen for years."

Jiraiya stood up and walked out from behind his desk and clapped Naruto on the shoulder.

"Naruto, I don't plan on wearing this hat a long time. And this invasion has taught us that life can be fleeting. A slight misstep and I could have been dead."

The blond grinned, "And all of the poor perverts would have been lost in a world with no new Icha Icha."

He let out a guffaw, "Read them already! They'll give you and your lady friend some wonderful ideas."

Naruto chose to ignore the comment leading to another sigh from Jiraiya. They then buckled down and started tackling the stack of paperwork that the Hokage had to complete in order to keep the village running.

*****BREAK*****

The celebration would be one of Konoha's largest despite the short time to prepare and the damage done to the village. While the losses to their shinobi had been large they were far smaller than when the Kyūbi had attacked. Their Hokage was still alive and the future looked bright.

Everyone who mattered in the village would gather for the Godaime's speech prior to the kickoff of the festivities. The Hyūga clan elders were no different. Wealthy merchants, retired shinobi, skilled tradesmen and shinobi of all stripes were out and ready to celebrate.

Hundreds of what looked like ANBU lined the rooftops and streets providing security in case of drunken violence or infiltrating enemies. While the true ANBU were out and about the majority of the masked ANBU were actually clones Naruto had created. It was a show of force to the people of Konoha that their shinobi ranks were more than adequate to continue protecting them.

A hush fell over the crowd as Jiraiya summoned a moderate sized toad and stood atop it.

"People of Konoha! Today we celebrate a great victory over Iwagakure and Kumogakure! Their Kage's lie dead and we stand triumphant!"

The crowd cheered and clapped at their victory. Jiraiya scanned the crowd looking every inch a Hokage.

"Before the celebration commences I have a few announcements to make."

The crowd looked on with baited breath as their leader began to speak.

"Due to our losses the council and I have decided to open the doors of the Academy to anyone who has ever been in the Academy and either failed their exams or voluntarily left. If you can mold chakra you can be of use to your village in the coming battles ahead. A new training curriculum has been created that will turn you into powerful shinobi!"

The crowd, many of whom had at one point or another gone to the Academy let out a roar of approval. The standards for becoming a genin could be harsh. Most didn't make it to the graduation exam and more than half failed. And then a further 2/3rds failed to be taken on by a jōnin instructor. Often times they would be absorbed into administrative shinobi duties but several would drop out of the career altogether. This was another opportunity for them to rekindle dreams of being a ninja in service to the village.

Jiraiya raised his hands for the crowd to quiet down.

"I also want everyone to join with me in celebrating the ascension of a new clan head! I present you Hinata Hyūga the head of Konoha's most noble clan!"

The cheers drowned out the shocked exclamations of the Hyūga elders. Above the roar of the crowd the Hokage continued on.

"I also present to you Shino Aburame, the new head of clan Aburame!"

While the cheers weren't quite as loud there was a lot of overlap. As the cheering and yelling died down the Hokage continued.

"Hinata and Shino along with their fellow teammate Kiba Inuzuka were instrumental in killing a number of jōnin from Moyagakure and Shimogakure. This team nearly single handedly saved the villages and towns of northern Hi no Kuni!"

Again the mass of people cheered for their Hokage. The Hyūga clan elders weren't sure what to do about this shocking turn of events. Some wanted to speak out and interrupt the Hokage but the crowd would probably have none of it. Hinata was a hero in their eyes, one of the valiant defenders of the Land of Fire and had the backing of the Hokage.

But still they muttered among themselves. Naruto Namikaze walked by them and whispered, "Hinata is my trusted comrade."

Sasuke Uchiha caught the eye of several with his Sharingan whirling. Kakashi gave his best eye smile and spoke directly to them.

"Ah the passions of youth, a little bird whispered in my team's ears that Hinata had enemies within her clan. I suspect if anything happened to their dear friend or her joyous ascension they might do something… _rash_."

The elders were not stupid. They were outraged that their decision was being overturned but they were not fools. The Hokage had the backing of Sharingan no Kakashi, the last Uchiha and the Yondaime's son. The will of the people was behind him. Hinata would be the clan head and there was nothing that could be done about it.

Tsunade grinned at the sight of the stiff backed Hyūga leaving the celebration to return to their clan compound. Things were changing in Konoha. Not all of them for the better but the elevation of a girl like Hinata to the head of the Hyūga was one of the bright spots.

Danzō also saw what had taken place and he had mixed thoughts. In general he supported the idea of a Hokage who ruled the village firmly. He also knew that clan elders had a significant amount of pull. Depending on how spiteful they were it could cause a number of problems for the village.

'I'll have to have a chat with them shortly. Perhaps their anger can be directed appropriately.'

As schemers schemed and the village celebrated Naruto and Sakura shared their first kiss under the exploding fireworks.

*****BREAK*****

Asuma finished his cigarette and flicked it away. The battle had been a brief but bloody affair. The Haze shinobi had not expected such a powerful attack. After the disastrous invasion of Hi no Kuni that left several of their jōnin dead they didn't have anyone who could stand up to the likes of Asuma, Neji or Anko. Even their prize poisonous gasses were at a disadvantage with a Futon specialist leading the attack.

Shikamaru had helped lay the planning but if Asuma was honest he knew that hadn't even been necessary. Raw skill and talent were hard to overcome even if they had planned poorly. After the initial slaughter the village had quickly surrendered.

It was then that Asuma had to do the hard part. The shinobi and all those above the age of 12 that could wield chakra were gathered and were bound and had a chakra draining seal attached to them. They were marched to the center of the village.

Asuma would not let anyone else bloody their hands with the task. He called out to the village as his Hokage had instructed.

"The price of waging war on Konoha is death."

His chakra flared and he quickly used his chakra blades to cut down the hundreds of helpless prisoners. He made the deaths quick and as painless as he could but even moving at jōnin level speeds there were a lot of bodies to kill off. The crowd of civilians who had come to watch were screaming for their loved ones but the chūnin kept them back. When it was done Asuma ordered the seizure of anything of value.

The younger genin were carted off back to Konoha. Those that could be salvaged and made to change their loyalties could become Leaf shinobi. Those that couldn't would be exiled on the other side of Hi no Kuni away from their home. Being shinobi trained they should be able to survive.

What Konoha had done here was not unknown to the shinobi world. Before the foundation of the village system clans were frequently exterminated. That had only been a few generations ago and even after the hidden village system grew to prominence whole towns were still destroyed outright along with their inhabitants. Still, for Konoha to do this was a shock.

It didn't sit well with Ino and Chōji. They were quite disgusted with the entire affair. Shikamaru slouched a bit and said, "Troublesome. I know it feels wrong you two but this wasn't done just out of vengeance. The goal was to save our comrade's lives as well as civilians on all sides."

"It's still wrong," Choji stubbornly insisted.

"If you had the choice between killing a captive enemy or letting him go, with the full knowledge that they would go and kill your father in the next conflict what would you do?"

His large friend thought for a bit, "I'd find another way."

"And if there isn't one?"

"I'd find another way."

"Troublesome."

Asuma knew based on the young Nara's posture he didn't really put his all into making his teammates see the reason for their actions. The kid understood intellectually why Konoha was pursuing this strategy but in the face of people crying out for their loved ones even logic could be trumped.

'My duty is done. I have given the Hokage and the village my loyalty, all I ask is the opportunity to fight the Akatsuki when the time comes. After this he will not refuse me.'

*****BREAK*****

Iwagakure was in mourning. The hated Leaf village had once again crippled them. Their Tsuchikage was dead. His presumptive heir was dead. Both of their jinchuuriki were gone. A very vulnerable and sorrowful air had taken hold in Iwa.

Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi had returned to Iwagakure and learned of her grandfather's passing. Her father and grandfather had died facing Konoha and the bitter seed of hatred was planted deep in her spirit.

"I swear Akatsuchi I will pay them back."

The genial bodyguard didn't like the change that was overtaking Kurotsuchi but with the grief so fresh it was not time to voice his concern.

Decisions needed to be made. A new Tsuchikage would have to be selected and there were no clear front runners. Kitsuchi would have been the ideal choice after his father's passing but Kakashi had ended that idea. And while Kurotsuchi had the lineage and was skilled for her age she was quite young to be ruling over Iwa.

But there were not many other choices either. Juro Suzumori had the strength and clout to be the next Tsuchikage but his recent failures would weigh against him. Iwa had to make some difficult decisions and they had to make them soon.

*****BREAK*****

The rain continued its incessant down pour as the powerful figures gathered together.

The Akatsuki had convened in **Amegakure** (Village Hidden in the Rain) the base of operations for Pain. They had successfully captured all of the tailed beasts save two. With Han's death they would not have access to the Gobi for at least another two years. And the Kyūbi was still out of their grasp. However the 1st through 4th tails had been successfully extracted and placed within the statue.

The Rokubi, Nanabi and Hachibi had been captured but could not be added out of order. Instead Sasori had overseen the reinforcement of the seals that kept the bijū contained. He had then destroyed parts of the cerebral cortex responsible for consciousness. With those parts gone the jinchuuriki were essentially in a coma that not even the slug Sannin could revive them from. Perfectly docile and unable to communicate with the trapped demons their bodies wound languish in stasis until the Gobi could be captured.

"I have a new task for you four," Pain intoned as he spoke to Kisame, Deidara, Zetsu and Sasori. Konan was also present but as always she would be by his side.

"While we wait for the appropriate timing you will bolster our numbers with shinobi. They need not be S ranked missing nin like you were."

Kisame snorted, "Then what's the point?"

Pain fixed him with a harsh stare. Kisame remained quiet under the force of the Rinnegan.

"Any shinobi ranked at least A or higher in the bingo books can serve a purpose. Go and bring new recruits to our organization. We must wait for the Gobi to return but we will take the Kyūbi much sooner. I will not allow another jinchuriki's death to delay our plan any further."

The four would use Sasori's spy network to contact shinobi who were already missing nin or who were open to the idea of abandoning their village. With their recruitment not being restricted to S ranked shinobi there were far more potential candidates.

*****BREAK*****

Yakata had met the Konoha team that had gone to Kumo for their chūnin exams. She had personally seen how they had demolished the competition with incredible ease. Even the clan-less girl had triumphed over older genin. It was one of the main reasons she had argued against **Shimogakure** (Village Hidden in Frost) siding with Kumo in the war.

'I bet they wished they had heeded my advice now!'

Word had reached the village that Moyagakure had been annihilated. Every single shinobi executed. And logic dictated they would be next as they were on the path to Kumo. And while it was vindicating that she had been proven right she wished it hadn't been for these stakes. Her village was small but it had been founded only ten years after Konoha and it was very likely it could be utterly obliterated by a vengeful Konoha.

And then terms had been delivered via messenger bird. Surrender unconditionally or face utter destruction. Along with the surrender were terms, free passage for shinobi across **Shimo no Kuni **(Land of Frost), a massive amount of money to be repaid over ten years, all of their jutsu scrolls copied and use of their shinobi to rebuild Hi no Kuni.

Yakata watched the various trusted advisors argue amongst themselves. Should they negotiate for better terms? Should they ask Kumo to help defend them? What would they do?

She finally had enough, "You are fools! You didn't listen to me before, listen to me now! Konoha would have no difficulty wiping us off the map. Kumo is in disarray after suffering a heavy defeat and the Haze is no more. The terms are galling and we will be crippled for a generation but at least we will be alive."

It was bitter pill to swallow but they had no choice. More arguing ensued but eventually her view won out and the Village Hidden in Frost agreed to all of the conditions.

*****BREAK*****

In the light of day the Academy instructors were a bit concerned about opening the doors to all the failed would be shinobi of the past. Luckily for them that had also been planned for. They wouldn't have to do a thing. All of the assessments and additional training would be completed by Naruto personally. The instructors were doubtful he could handle that many but they should have realized that underestimating Kakashi's student wasn't too bright.

Over 300 Academy and genin drop outs arrived for processing. And they were met by 300 clones of Naruto Namikaze. Every single one of them would receive an individual assessment and training from one of the Kage Bunshin.

The villagers had long since stopped hating Naruto for being the container of the Kyūbi. He was a Namikaze after all and had protected the village from two separate invasions. And what was more Naruto was actually quite good at training. He was taught by the best after all and many of the candidates blossomed under Naruto's tutelage.

Kakashi had suggested the very idea to Jiraiya. Like most of Kakashi's ideas it served multiple purposes. The first and obvious result was more trained shinobi. While it would take time to get them up to speed, and even then not all of them would qualify for even being a genin, it would start to replenish Konoha's ranks. An unacceptable number had been lost in the invasion of Hi no Kuni.

The second benefit would be to round out Naruto's training. The first step to mastery of something was learning it. The next was using it in live combat situations. The final step was to teach it to someone else.

The third benefit was having a solid base of support from within the village when it came time for the selection of a new Hokage. While technically Jiraiya could appoint whoever he wanted as his successor it was always a good idea to make sure that successor had the backing of the majority of the shinobi and the civilians.

And while the Kage Bunshin evaluated and trained the real Naruto was with Kakashi and Sasuke as they tried out Sasuke's new eyes.

The first ability he tried out was Susanoo. Unlike Itachi's his version was a purplish color. It began with a skeletal frame but quickly grew more complete with use.

"Any pain in the eyes Sasuke?" Kakashi asked his pupil.

Sasuke shook his head and the Susanoo moved as he did.

Naruto cheered, "That looks so cool!"

Sasuke couldn't help but grin as well as he formed a blade in the chakra construct's hand and gave a few swishes in the air with it.

Kakashi had his Sharingan out and he could see that the amount of chakra used with this technique was considerable. He put his Sharingan away and then indicated they begin the first set of tests.

Naruto fired several normal kunai straight at the Susanoo, as predicted they bounced off. Next he channeled Futon energy into one of his chakra kunai and threw it. This time it pierced the outer layer of the Susanoo but ricocheted away once it struck bone.

Now it was time for ninjutsu. Naruto had a number of wind jutsu under his belt and he was going to try them all out on Sasuke and see how tough Sasuke's new eyes really were.

**AN: **A few plot bits are moving but not a whole lot of action. Hopefully everyone still enjoyed it.


	54. Chapter 53: Caged Bird

**AN: **AND HERE WE ARE! ONE THOUSAND REVIEWS! Thank you everyone!

Special thanks to GJMEGA for his awesome beta work.

**Chapter 53: **Caged Bird

The Mizukage was idly tapping her foot as she considered the latest news from the war. Konoha had shattered the invasion. It was a shock to learn that two Kage had been involved in the attack on the leaf village; two now dead Kage.

It really was a frightening prospect to see the full strength of Konoha. It had cost them their taijutsu master but in return they had annihilated the elite of the elite in Kumo. The Raikage, Darui and Samui were dead and both jinchuriki were now missing.

At the same time Iwa had also suffered greatly. Their Kage was dead. As was his presumptive heir. One jinchuuriki was dead and the other taken from within the heart of their village itself.

'How is this possible? Could Konoha really have taken Iwa and Kumo's jinchuuriki while simultaneously defending Takigakure, the Fire Daimyo and Konoha? No it isn't possible. Either there was a third party or Konoha had powerful allies that have yet to make themselves known.'

She suppressed a sigh as she listened to the various advisors prattle on about what action should be taken. With four of the major villages embroiled in a war many in Kiri were anxious to play a role. The war was shaping up to be a brutal affair and the winning side would stand to reap significant awards.

Some argued in favor of siding with what seemed to be the winning side. Konoha had won stunning early victories and their enemies were in disarray. Her bodyguard Talia spoke against this. The Suiton user kept her remarks brief.

"Jiraiya is a heavy handed tyrant. Kumo felt compelled to go to war due to attacks within their own border. He lures them in and then crushes his enemies. He's destroyed Otogakure and Moyagakure utterly. Will such a man ever be content sharing power with anyone?"

Ao snorted, "There's no proof that he started the war. It was Hi no Kuni that was invaded after all. The Leaf spared Suna after their betrayal. Our trade agreement brokered by him has helped us get back on our feet. I say we stand by Konoha and help put an end to the war quickly."

An elder by the name of Genji raised his own voice. It was gnarled with age and he spoke slowly, "Why go to war at all? Let the other villages fight it out. Our shinobi can earn more coin for the village while their shinobi batter each other back and forth."

Dai Munashi was the only surviving relation of Jinpachi Munashi once one of the legendary swordsman of the mist. He scoffed at the elder.

"You've had your glory days in a bygone era! Our village has known little glory recently. Our swordsmen were scattered, our village name mocked and our people have been mired in civil war. Now is the time to do something, to reclaim our good name!"

Mei stood up suddenly.

"We will do nothing for now. However I want twice as many shinobi scouting and spying on the other powers. Someone took those jinchuuriki. If it is the leaf we can't afford to upset them. If it isn't we need to find out who has them. Both of our bijū have been taken and they are _ours_."

Some voices rose to contradict her but they were silenced with a blast of killing intent and a sweet smile.

"Our honored elder is correct. We could use the boon to our economy this war gives. Many rich merchants, civilians and minor powers will have contracts that we can fill. If war comes at our doorstep it will find us well provisioned and ready. Our jutsu works best in our lands; we will not bleed out our power in a war outside of it."

The Mizukage had spoken and Kirigakure would stay out of the war… for now.

*****BREAK*****

"Hnn, Naruto you know the problem with being this strong?"

Naruto looked him oddly and shrugged, "No clue, being strong is great!"

"We can't really spar at full strength anymore."

Kakashi smiled wryly underneath his mask. Sasuke was right. A battle between the two of them would tear apart the countryside for miles. Furthermore there existed too great of a chance for one of them to die. When dealing with jutsu that could level mountains and fires that couldn't be quenched outside of complicated seals there wasn't a real good way to not deal lethal damage to the sparring partner.

Naruto laughed, "Yeah but why would we need to spar? Everyone knows I'd win, believe it!"

Sasuke snorted but didn't necessarily disagree. Kakashi had taught him to view things through the lens of reality not through pride. Naruto's Kage Bunshin and Sage mode were difficult things to counteract. While they both held powerful contracts, it was Naruto who could better utilize his. He had the chakra to summon multiple powerful toads and Sasuke couldn't do that and still maintain Susanoo.

Kakashi interjected, "Where is Sakura anyway?"

Naruto sighed, "Still working on that sealing array. It would be a lot more fun dating her if I didn't have to drag her away from her fuinjutsu formulas!"

"They probably interest her more than you do," Sasuke mocked.

Naruto glared at his teammate and said, "Speaking of dating how are your marriage prospects going?"

Sasuke didn't like talking about it and Naruto knew it. He had received several offers. Few of them were kunoichi however. He had wanted kunoichi in order to have strong children to lead the Uchiha clan back into greatness. He instead got dozens of civilian girls. While it had never been proven by medical nin that when civilians and shinobi procreate that it produced less powerful shinobi than if two shinobi did so it was a generally accepted fact. Why else would the civilian population have such a high failure rate in the Academy?

'Well lots of reasons.' Sasuke conceded to himself. Not having early childhood chakra training could play a factor; as could the harsh realities of the shinobi life style.

"Not as well as I'd hoped. One of the front runners for the first one is probably Ami Kogure."

The young woman was Sasuke's age and had gone to the Academy but had failed the graduation test. She was in good health, did have some innate ability to mold chakra and her family were respected craftsmen. It was a good match.

Naruto chuckled, "I remember her being quite the bitch in the Academy."

Sasuke shrugged, "I remember you being quite the dobe in the Academy. People do change."

The waitress came by and took their order. It was a nice restaurant that served a variety of food. It was a little pricey but team seven could afford it. And it had the added benefit of not being too fancy.

Kakashi changed the subject over to how Naruto's training was going with the new recruits.

"It's going great Kakashi-sensei. I've only had about a dozen drop out. Some of them aren't going to make it to genin status but Jiraiya and I talked about creating a home guard group of civilians who would be in charge of protecting other civilians if the worst should happen. It would put them on a higher footing than most soldiers that serve the Daimyo. And with the kunai scrolls they could probably take enemy genin and weak chūnin."

"Any promising gems?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto furrowed his brow, "I guess that depends on how you define gems. There are several that will be great as part of Konoha's medical program. They won't ever be frontline fighters but they have a gift for chakra control and will be able to save a lot of lives."

Kakashi knew that was useful but all three of them knew what he was really asking. Naruto continued speaking after thinking a few more moments.

"There are two who never gave up their dream and kept themselves in good physical condition. Give them six months and I'm sure they will be solid chūnin. After that who knows how far they can go."

As they were discussing the two in more detail Sakura approached the table.

"Sorry everyone but I was close to a breakthrough and wanted to finish my thoughts."

Naruto rose and planted a soft kiss on her lips, "No problem Sakura-chan."

Kakashi had dabbled in fuinjutsu though he had never mastered it. He asked, "How is your research and experimentation going?"

Sakura's green eyes showcased her frustration.

"That seal is very effective. No wonder the Byakugan has been so secure for so long. The key sealing matrix is deliberately unstable and will prevent other fuinjutsu from interacting with it without triggering a fatal reaction."

"Anyway to stabilize it?" Kakashi asked.

Sakura let a bit more of her frustration show, "None that I can see. Anything that interacts with it would trigger the reaction. Anything! I thought maybe I could isolate one of the supporting components but it's locked up tighter than any vault."

Naruto knew how important it was to Sakura. He rubbed her back lightly and said, "You'll get it. It's only been a couple of weeks!"

Kakashi sat there mulling over an idea.

"The Byakugan becomes sealed upon the host's death as well correct?"

Sakura nodded.

"How long does it take?"

Sakura wasn't sure but it had to happen within the first minute of death otherwise there would be no chakra left to do anything.

"You should ask Tsunade-sama for help Sakura. There are ways to induce a deathlike state that could trick the Caged Bird Seal into thinking the host is dead. At that point the Byakugan seals itself. From there the seal's booby traps are gone and you just need to figure out how to unseal the eyes."

Sakura blinked at Kakashi. She had been so focused on finding a pure fuinjutsu solution that she never even considered seeking out the assistance of a medical nin. There would still be some problems and she would need volunteers but the theory was sound.

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei, I'll go find Tsunade right now!"

Naruto said, "Wait but what about…"

But Sakura had already disappeared. Kakashi and Sasuke traded a look and then the two normally stoic shinobi burst out into a belly laugh. Naruto simply glared at them and muttered darkly.

*****BREAK*****

The shinobi of Kumogakure were devastated. All of their powerful leaders had been killed. Their Raikage and his strong right arm were gone as was his brother. Others of his inner circle were killed like Samui and her team. Kumo had a great deal of pride and it was sorely shaken after the disasters.

Now a new leader had to rebuild from the ashes. There were only a handful of potential candidates that had the power and the ability to lead Kumogakure. Atsui had the strength though that too was questionable with a missing arm but not the temperance. Fuyu was a solid kunoichi but she lacked the raw power one expected in a Kage. Moreover she had few allies and her family name had been marred due to her brother's failure. Not only had he failed to gather the information he had needed but he had broken under the care of Konoha's T&I division.

The Lightning Daimyo had also arrived in Kumo to personally help make the selection of the Godaime Raikage.

After much deliberation the Daimyo backed Tezuka Yotsuki. Tezuka was the head of the powerful Yotsuki clan. He was in his 50's which was normally considered too old to be selected for a Kage however Hiruzen coming out of retirement had set a precedent for it.

Like all of the major clans of Kumo he was skilled with kenjutsu though he had not been on the battlefield for over sixteen years. He was also a Genjutsu aficionado. When he had been on the battlefield he combined blade and illusion to devastating effect. He was known for his caution and that was a plus since the Daimyo had wanted someone unlike the unruly Yondaime Raikage.

While he was there he also participated in the war council. There at the table were a number of critical leaders of Kumo. Mabui would continue to act as an assistant to the Raikage office and ensure a smooth transition. Fuyu and Atsui were also in attendance.

The Lightning Daimyo was blunt, "How can we recover from this disaster?"

Tezuka stroked his thin beard, "Currently we still outnumber the Konoha shinobi though we have little hope of countering their monstrous S class individuals. The Namikaze has shown his ability to unleash devastating widespread jutsu so our numbers won't count for much in a direct conflict."

Atsui made a sound from the back of his throat, "Namikaze? That's who you are worried about? I know that he butchered the Iwa army but it was the likes of Jiraiya, Tsunade and Gai that defeated us at the walls of Konoha."

Tezuka's dark eyes bored into the ill tempered hot head.

"Since you cannot control your tongue leave this gathering," the new Raikage ordered.

Atsui stalked out, angry at the dismissal.

Yotsuki continued, "I propose two solutions. First I am tasking Fuyu to recreate the Kinkaku Force. Before it was disbanded it had slain powerful shinobi all over the world including the Nidaime Hokage. Gather twenty of the best jōnin you can find. Outside of the defense of the village their sole role will be the assassination of S class opponents like the Hokage, Tsunade, Kakashi and his team."

Fuyu was ecstatic with the news. With a team of assassins it would not be difficult to get her vengeance on Anko Mitarashi.

"I will begin immediately Raikage-sama."

Mabui prompted, "And the second solution?"

"We should attempt to gather additional allies. The Haze and Frost are lost to us now but they were not all that important. Iwa has lost their leader and is in a similar situation as us. With Suna already pressuring them we can expect little assistance on that front."

The Daimyo asked, "Then where will get additional help from? Kiri?"

Tezuka smiled, "If they are open to it absolutely, but I am also going to begin negotiating with **Tetsu no Kuni **(Land of Iron)."

Fuyu cocked her head to the side, "But haven't they always been neutral?"

"Traditionally they have however my clan has many contacts within their country. I believe I can gain an audience with Mifune. Once he learns how close Konoha is to complete domination of the Elemental Nations he may see the need to intervene. And if not at the very least I am confident I can convince some of the samurai clans to lend their services as mercenaries."

The Daimyo wasn't as confident as the new Raikage but he could see his words had already caused spirits to be raised among the downcast shinobi attending. Even if his efforts proved futile at least their morale would be raised. The Raikage had been well loved by the shinobi of the village and it would take quite a bit to get the village out of their depression.

Still he had some concerns. "My advisors tell me that it is likely Konoha who has taken the tailed beasts from us and from Iwa. Training a jinchuriki can take time but depending on whom they find as compatible hosts we could be looking at an overwhelming force in the next few years. Even with the Land of Iron's help I don't see how we would be able to stop them."

The Raikage countered, "As you say it will be years before the new jinchuriki will be battle ready. In the meantime trade has been disrupted in Hi no Kuni. Many of the citizens in the capital are dead and half the city went up in flames. Our land is still untouched. Fighting on favorable terrain while we enlist the aid of other potential allies is the best course of action."

'Yes I did pick the next Raikage well.' The Daimyo was relatively pleased with himself.

"I'll defer to your strategic expertise Tezuka. Let me know if there is anything you need."

Nothing more was needed from the feudal lord and he dismissed himself while the Kumo shinobi talked about how they would handle an attack if Hi no Kuni retaliated sooner rather than later.

*****BREAK*****

Shikaku looked over the new information that had come in. Much of it was good news. Takigakure would of course honor their alliance since they had just been saved by Konoha but it was other villages that were sending their promises of support, supplies and shinobi that pleased him. **Kusagakure** (Village Hidden in the Grass), **Hoshigakure** (Village Hidden Among Stars), **Tanigakure** (Village Hidden in Valleys), **Getsugakure** (Village Hidden under the Moon) and even **Ishigakure** (Village Hidden in Stones) a historical ally of Iwagakure had sided with Konoha. Of the 'major' minor villages only **Amegakure** (Village Hidden by Rain) had not provided a positive response. They hadn't provided a negative response; they had simply provided no response.

What concerned him was that the Akatsuki likely had control over most of the tailed beasts. Both Iwagakure and Kumogakure had been attacked while their elite forces were away. That spoke highly of their ability to either move around the nations quickly or their intelligence apparatus. Either way it meant bad news for Konoha.

His spies had provided sketches of what the attackers look liked. The one that had hit Iwagakure was masked and so no help was to be found there. It had been multiple shinobi who had struck at Kumogakure and their abilities were quite unique. The Akatsuki had some interesting powers not the least of which was the ability to summon impressive if strange animals.

He had made copies of the sketches and he showed them to Jiraiya and Naruto. Naruto or one of his clones could always be found with the Hokage now. Shikaku saw the young man who had once been thought of as an idiot began to show intelligence and knowledge of situations that would stump shinobi twice his age.

'Kage Bunshin means he probably has more knowledge then I do.'

Shikaku's musings about Naruto were interrupted as Jiraiya dropped the sketches.

"Impossible…"

"What is it pervy sage?"

Jiraiya pointed at the picture of one of the Akatsuki shinobi.

"That man is supposed to be dead. I trained him personally years ago. His name is Yahiko and he was a war orphan from the Second Shinobi World War. He eventually became a shinobi from Amegakure but word reached me that he and his two friends had been killed."

Jiraiya flipped through the other sketches, "And her she looks like an older Konan!"

The Hokage's emotions were scattered. Joyous at the prospect that his first students were alive and saddened that they had joined an organization like the Akatsuki. And then doubt also filtered in. What if this was simply a Henge? What if the sketches were completely wrong and he was seeing what he wanted to see?

Shikaku began thinking through some of the implications.

"Ame was the only minor village of any importance that hasn't come out in support of us. The village has been virtually sealed off for years now. Shinobi come out to do missions and participate in chūnin exams but no one goes in."

Jiraiya looked up, "Ame could be the Akatsuki base of operations! It is a centrally located village that is shrouded in secrecy. It makes perfect sense."

Naruto looked trouble, "If you trained them why are they working for the Akatsuki?"

The Hokage looked uncomfortable, "I don't know. Also one of them is missing. Nagato was the third student and the most powerful. He had the Rinnegan."

Naruto due to his extensive reading knew legends of it.

"The eyes that the Sage of Six Paths had? The dojutsu that is stronger than the Sharingan?"

Jiraiya nodded, "Yeah he was something else; for a long time I thought he was going to change this world."

Shikaku looked pensive, "Maybe he has. You never learned who ran the Akatsuki organization. What other power could hold shinobi like Itachi, Kisame and Kakuzu together? Their leader may very well be Nagato."

The toad sage didn't look happy about that at all. The actions of the Akatsuki were so completely opposite to the way the gentle boy he taught had thought about things. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't be.

Shikaku continued, "We'll need to get more information…"

"No," Jiraiya replied. If we are correct than anyone who tries to scout out that place will die. The Akatsuki have taken down multiple tailed beasts. They have walked into two of the greater powers and taken what they wanted with ease. Sending anyone there will be suicide."

Naruto jumped up, "Then what are we going to do about it?"

"Not a whole lot. I'm going to send another missive to Ame and ask after Yahiko. I saved their lives and trained them; hopefully they will still have some residual good thoughts about me. However right now we are still in a war with Iwa and Kumo and I don't like the idea of creating a new front in the conflict until it's necessary."

Naruto asked, "What is our next step in the war?"

Jiraiya smiled grimly, "We are going to keep things a bit low key but we'll be bleeding our enemies. Kumo is going to reinforce their border and that will make them sitting ducks for a small squad of highly trained shinobi to wipe those border fortifications out. We'll be sending the minor village's shinobi to help Suna put more pressure on Iwa."

Naruto knew exactly who Jiraiya meant when he said a small squad of highly trained shinobi. It would be Team Seven who harassed the border. Unless Kumo could bring overwhelming force down on their heads it would be nearly impossible to stop them. And if they did bring overwhelming force they could always turn tail and run. Not many shinobi could keep up with Team Seven and that was before you considered the clones that would be delaying pursuit.

"When do we leave?"

Shikaku waved off the request, "Don't be so eager. Sakura is still working on her project and you are still training the second chance groups. Sasuke's eyes are showing no signs of strain but Tsunade still doesn't like the complete lack of knowledge we have on the Mangekyō Sharingan. We are still rebuilding."

Naruto saw the wisdom in all of that. While he was a good deal more calm than he was a few years ago he stilled burned with excess energy. He didn't particularly like killing people but he did enjoy fighting for something he believed in.

Jiraiya interjected, "Shikaku, you and Naruto handle anything while I'm gone. I need to go to Mount Myōboku."

They were surprised but agreed. Soon Jiraiya had a toad summoned who would be passing along the message to Reverse Summon him. And within the hour Jiraiya was with the toads.

*****BREAK*****

Anko considered herself terribly unfit to be a mother. Hell before now she didn't even _want_ to be a mother. But even with jutsu accidents happened and this one had been met with unadulterated joy from her husband. Iruka was so beside himself with happiness that Anko couldn't help but be infected of it.

'Terrible timing in the middle of a war though!'

Yes Anko was pregnant and Iruka was thrilled. They decided not to make an announcement but Anko would remove herself as an active shinobi to ensure the safety of the baby.

"Don't think I'm going to play homemaker Iruka-kun! When the baby comes I'll be caring for it but I plan on being back out of the field watching your back."

Iruka knew better than to argue. Though he did secretly hope the little bundle of joy to be would be more persuasive than he ever could.

*****BREAK*****

Guren of the **Shōton **(Crystal Release) had been a loner since the death of Orochimaru. He had been the charismatic light that had given her life meaning and purpose. Since then she had lived a life of isolation and wondered if she should bother continuing on at all.

She was still a highly a skilled shinobi even if some of her skills had atrophied. And so when she felt the massive chakra presence she instantly prepared herself for a fight.

Kisame shouted, "Guren come on out, I'm not here to kill you!"

Guren knew of Kisame Hoshigaki. He was the most feared S class criminal Kiri had ever produced.

'What on earth does he want with me?'

She was confident in her abilities but Kisame was on another level entirely. If he had come for violence there was little she could do to stop him. That didn't mean she would go down easily but the man's reputation put him in the same league as Orochimaru-sama himself.

Guren decided to show herself. "That's close enough, why are you here?"

Kisame laughed, "Don't be scared now! You should know by now I prefer the direct approach. If I wanted to kill you I'd already be breathing down your neck."

"Why are you here?" She asked again more strongly.

"My organization is recruiting, we lost a few folks recently and we thought you might be interested."

Guren laughed, "And why do you think I'd be interested? Orochimaru-sama was your enemy. Why would I help you?"

Kisame gave her a grin revealing his shark like teeth.

"Because we are going to be going after the one's that killed Orochimaru and you seem like a vindictive person to me. Help us and we'll give you a crack at Team Seven and the Hokage."

Guren thought about it and then a slow smile crept onto her lips.

*****BREAK*****

"Absolutely not," the head of the Hyūga clan declared.

Sakura groaned, "Come on Hinata, you were the one who wanted this done! We've got a working plan now and Tsunade has a number of deathlike states she can put someone in. This was always going to be risky."

Hinata narrowed her eyes. What they were talking about was insane. They wanted to essentially kill one of her clan members, hopefully be able to revive him and then see if they can adjust the sealed Cage Bird Seal.

"There are too many risks. I refuse to experiment with the lives of my family!"

"Then the Caged Bird Seal isn't coming off. I'm sorry Hinata; this isn't a matter of wanting something bad enough or trying hard enough. Some things are simply impossible. I won't bore you with the explanation but any kind of traditional fuinjutsu solution simply will not work. The seal designer was too thorough."

Hinata looked every inch the Hyūga. Perfectly poised on the outside but inside she was frantically thinking about what she should do. Finally after a long tense moment she said. "I am not caged myself so I cannot make the decision for them. If you can find a volunteer to go through with this it will be up to them. Start with Kō and find out who can be trusted. We cannot let the clan elders know yet."

Sakura grinned, "You won't be sorry Hinata! We have Tsunade-sama herself on hand to make sure everything goes well."

"Kami I hope so Sakura. These are people's lives. The entire idea of what you are doing reminds me too much of Orochimaru and his experiments."

Sakura looked taken aback. "Hinata! Do not compare me to that snake. Nothing we are doing is wrong. We aren't using Edo Tensei or some kinjutsu. We are using sound medical ninjutsu to trick an evil cursed seal."

"I said it reminds me of it not that it was it."

Sakura was a big miffed but she understood the stress Hinata was under. She was responsible for an entire clan and she took that burden seriously. In the long run it was a good thing but right now it frustrated her.

"All right let's not argue, thank you for your cooperation and I'll do everything in my power to make sure this works without any lives lost."

**AN: **And that's a wrap for this chapter.


	55. Chapter 54: Preperations

**AN: **I blame my beta for the length of time it took to get this chapter out. Is it because he took a while to edit? Nope – he's actually fantastic at getting me back chapters, typically in less than 24 hours! No, the reason why I blame him is that he introduced me to an epic Harry Potter story called **With Strength of Steel Wings** by AngelaStarCat. I highly recommend it, but I must warn you it is LONG and you will be very unproductive while reading it.

As always thank you GJMEGA for the beta work.

**Chapter 54: **Preparations

Kidōmaru had been gravely injured after the battle with Konoha where he had served as a mercenary with the Iwa forces. Over the course of a month he had managed to regain full use of his limbs. It had been galling to have him and his men so easily defeated by a single jutsu. How he hated Konoha for destroying his home. He used to _be_ someone; he used to be powerful and important. And while his abilities and strength as a shinobi had grown he was now a nobody.

And so when he encountered the man flying on a strange white bird that looked like clay he readied himself for a fight. He was mad at the world and he wanted to take it out on someone. Anyone would do really.

He activated his cursed seal but before he could do anything the man called out, "Oi, I didn't come here to fight but if you insist I'll blow you apart with my art and you'll never avenge your master."

Kidōmaru paused. Avenge Orochimaru? He had desired that but mostly he had desired power and prestige. It looked like someone else wanted to hire him. He would hear what the strange man had to say, if he didn't like it he could always kill him later anyway.

Deidara grinned; his man Sasori's information had been golden as always. Soon they would have another recruit.

*****BREAK*****

It turned out Kō was very willing to volunteer. The idea that the hated Cage Bird Seal could be finally done away with was worth the risk; and Hinata had spent some time ensuring he understood the risks. He could die, which was probably unlikely due to having a medical nin of Tsunade's caliber on hand but the risk did exist. More likely was that his Byakugan would be sealed forever. The entire point of this process was to cause the Byakugan to be sealed under a death like state, then apply a counteracting fuinjutsu formula and then bring him out of the death like state.

Kō had proudly told Hinata that he didn't care, this was more important than any one shinobi. Hinata was grateful and wished him luck.

Tsunade, Hana, Sasuke, Sakura and a half dozen Naruto clones were there waiting with the medical equipment. Tsunade would be handling the process of putting their volunteer under. Hana would be her chief assistant. Sasuke would use his Sharingan to watch how the seal reacted to different stimuli and Sakura would handle the fuinjutsu portion.

Sakura didn't allow a hint of nervousness to show. She had hoped Jiraiya would take charge but he had said that she knew more about the seal than even he did at this point thanks to her weeks of study. This was her project and if it failed there would be no one to blame but herself.

Tsunade began the show by slowing Kō's heartbeat. Soon he was sound asleep in a medically induced coma.

"Any change with the **Hyūga Sōke no Juinjutsu** (Caged Bird Seal)?" Tsunade asked Sasuke who looked closely with his Sharingan.

"Hnn, no change."

"We'll lower his heartbeat further and put him in a deathlike state."

Tsunade carefully took a senbon and pierced her patient's neck, shutting his body down. To a casual observer Kō would seem dead, even his heart wasn't beating now. It did still beat but at such a slow pace one would have to keep their ear listening for over a minute.

"No change," Sasuke advised.

Sakura frowned. She had hoped to get more immediate results. She raised her voice, "Let's move on to the second experiment."

Tsunade shook her head, "No Sakura. Moving too fast could make us lose him. Let Sasuke continue watching. I'll be here for the next twelve hours and if nothing changes I'll revive him. I'm skilled enough to bring him around and reverse the temporary deathlike state. Give him 24 hours for recovery and we'll start our other planned methods."

Sakura was impatient but she saw wisdom in the Sannin's words.

'So much for getting quick results.'

Sasuke also wasn't particularly pleased. He took pride in his Sharingan but staring at a body, a cursed seal and the chakra network was pretty boring. The Uchiha clan head would much rather be training. Or even making progress on selecting his potential mates.

*****BREAK*****

Konohamaru was on the fast track to making chūnin**. **As the holder of the monkey contract his ability to summon Enma gave him more power than a jōnin. Unfortunately his chakra reserves, which were well above average for his age, weren't quite sufficient to summon him. This meant that he was spending long hours mastering his chakra control to make the summon more efficient and building his chakra reserves by doing the tree walking exercises as long as he could.

In addition to that he trained with his team. He vowed never again to be helpless in the face of an enemy. Deep down he felt personally responsible for Kotetsu and Izumo's deaths. If he had been stronger he wouldn't have needed to be saved. If he had been stronger Udon wouldn't have gotten hurt.

Asuma saw his nephew training hard and approached him.

"Konohamaru, how are you and your team doing."

"Getting stronger. Next time those bastards come here I'll tear them apart."

Asuma chuckled. "Well if all goes well they won't be coming here again. It won't be long before we hit them back."

The Sandaime's grandson of course hoped that Konoha wouldn't get invaded again but on the other hand he wanted to pay them back. And it was doubtful they would let him be part of the attack. As heir to the Sarutobi clan and still a genin the odds of him being part of a retaliatory strike were slim.

In frustration he slammed his fist into the bark of the tree shattering a good chunk of it.

The elder Sarutobi saw the boy's anger, the boy's hate, and give him a grim nod.

"I know exactly how you feel, but Kumo isn't going anywhere and there will be plenty of time in your life to get revenge. Right now focus on getting stronger, and not just yourself but your team as well. We've always been known for the strength of our teamwork but Kakashi and Team Seven have taken that to a whole new level. Learn from their success."

The genin gave his uncle a smile. "Yeah you're right. They need to get their lazy butts to work too."

They weren't really lazy but they didn't have the same level of dedication as he did.

As the young genin turned to go check on his teammates he gave another look at his uncle, "I know Kumo isn't going anywhere right now but one day we are going to wipe them off the map and I'll be damned sure I'm a part of that."

*****BREAK*****

Kankurō was pleased with his newest puppet. All on its own it had wiped out two teams of older genin and their chūnin commanders. If his sister were here she would be sure to mock the accomplishment since killing genin, regardless of their age, was pathetically easy.

'I'd give up being a ninja if I was in my 20s and still a genin. Some people have no self respect. I was doing those Iwa dogs a favor by taking out their trash.'

He idly brought Surizarinku out of the earth. From the front the puppet looked like a giant mole. Assuming moles had serrated teeth dripping with poison. That was just the head of the puppet however. The rest of it was the body of a snake and was thirty feet long. This creation was his very first original construct. It had a number of defensive abilities and it had been specifically designed to fight Iwa shinobi.

Surizarinku could burrow through sand, rock or earth easily enough. It could fight with half of its body buried directly underneath Kankurō which would effectively shield him from nasty jutsu like **Doton**: **Doryuso** (Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears).

One of the shinobi under his command reported in, "Kankurō-sama we were able to capture the supplies intact. Should we bring them back to Suna?"

He shook his head.

"No, take anything immediately useful you can carry. Burn the rest."

The purpose of the attack here and elsewhere through **Tsuchi no Kuni** (Land of Earth) was to slowly strangle their enemy. Travel would be crippled and towns that needed to import food would soon begin to grow desperate. The Earth Daimyo was learning that soldiers made poor opponents for the terrifyingly effective guerilla strikes that shinobi like Kankurō and his team were capable of. It would take shinobi or a massive amount of soldiers to deal with something like Surizarinku.

And so far the shinobi of Iwagakure were demoralized and still in a state of shock at the deaths of their leaders and the destruction of their jinchuuriki. Only their ally Kumo had also been able to wield two of the living weapons in battle and now they had both been stripped away as well. Shock and panic reigned supreme and Iwa had yet to announce a new Tsuchikage.

It was the type of war that Kankurō favored. A massive battle like what had taken place in Konohagakure would be frustrating. As a puppet master he already had to split his attention in dozens of directions. Add in massive ninjutsu flying back and forth, projectiles and the need to avoid doing damage to his own allies and such a battle would be terribly taxing.

"Hai Kankurō-sama," the sandy haired chūnin replied.

'Things are going well but I what I really want to do is give Surizarinku a real test.'

*****BREAK*****

Mui was frustrated. The jōnin had not been in favor of allying so closely with Konoha. He had another plan, a plan that involved kinjutsu that the council in their shortsightedness had forbidden. They could not see the greatness that Kusagakure could become. Instead they would go on as they have, being a minor power at the beck and call of the truly great villages of the Elemental Nations.

Even that name gnawed at his psyche. The Elemental Nations were named for Fire, Earth, Water, Wind and Lightning countries as if they were the only nations to matter.

'Those shortsighted fools!'

Mui's senses suddenly prickled and he instantly was on guard, ready to ignite a firestorm with his personal Katon jutsu should it prove necessary. However instead of an attack a strange creature emerged from the ground. Part white and part black. The jōnin wasn't sure what exactly it was and kept a wary eye on it.

Zetsu spoke, "Mui, we have been watching you."

"Who are you?"

"We are the Akatsuki. We will tear down the five great villages and recreate this world."

Mui wasn't so easily convinced but he had been intrigued. And then he went from intrigued to being hooked. Their plans seemed odd but for too long Kusagakure had played second fiddle. While what they planned would not cause the ascension of his village it would bring the major powers down.

The Akatsuki was pleased with the acquisition of another elite shinobi.

*****BREAK*****

After Kō had sufficiently recovered it was back to the drawing board. Tsunade stopped his heart. No change. Tsunade restricted blood flow to the brain. No change. Tsunade even paralyzed his nervous system and still no change.

Sakura wasn't happy; while Kakashi's idea had been interesting it appeared that it wasn't going to work. The only bright side was that Kō hadn't suffered any lasting harm from their experimentation.

As they were wrapping up their final test Sasuke frowned and studied the situation.

"Sakura why are we focusing on making the body appear dead when the Caged Bird Seal is tied to the chakra network?"

Sakura's mind raced. The seal was affixed to the body. It was on the skin plain as day. But the reason why it couldn't be removed was because it was imprinted on the chakra network. If the chakra network could be shut down then the seal's failsafe would be disabled.

The problem with this was that shutting down the chakra network could destroy a shinobi's ability to use jutsu. However if it could be done temporally and only to the area where the seal was located…

Sakura's face lit up, "Sasuke you're a genius!"

"I am an Uchiha."

Sakura punched his arm, "Stop it. No, I've found the solution and if this works the irony is too perfect."

Sasuke looked at her quizzically and Sakura explained. The Gentle Fist style closed tenketsu points. If all of the tenketsu points were closed in the head region it would rob the Caged Bird Seal of the power to function and then it could be manipulated through fuinjutsu. It still needed to be tested but the theory was sound. The only complication was that closing tenketsu points near the brain wasn't exactly the safest thing to do; but with a world class medical nin on hand it could work.

The irony was that the Hyūga themselves had the ability to free themselves from their seal by using their tenketsu closing combat style.

'Was this planned? Did the creator of this seal want it to be reversible but only at the hands of their family?'

With a new plan in mind Sakura's inner fire burned brightly.

*****BREAK*****

More work had to be done, however with the breakthrough discovered it soon became possible to manipulate the Caged Bird Seal fuinjutsu formula and Kō became the first branch member to be unsealed. Tsunade had overseen the process and had estimated the chance of serious injury or death to be less than 1% if she personally oversaw the procedure and up to 5% if it was done by another medical nin.

Those odds were acceptable to Hinata, the new head of the clan. Now she would begin sending branch members to get their seal undone. Openly flaunting the fact their Byakugan was unsealed wasn't a wise decision. The obvious problem of course was it would be open season on the Hyūga for those that hungered for their eyes. The second issue was the Hyūga elders. Hinata wouldn't put anything past them and wouldn't be surprised if they held the ones still afflicted with the Caged Bird Seal hostage. It was best to go slow and already Neji and others had been released.

Hinata felt pride well in her chest. She hadn't been the heir for even two months and already she was changing the clan for the better. The removal of what was essentially a slavery seal was the pinnacle of her achievements but it wasn't the only one. The branch members were treated with kindness and they were asked what they wanted to do. Some who had been declared unfit for shinobi duty had second chances. Some who didn't want to be shinobi were allowed to retire.

Eventually word would get out to the elders and when it did she would be ready for them. If they tried to stop her she would break them. Unlike the elders she was not blinded by pride. She had the blessings of the Hokage and Kakashi's team. If they tried anything she would have no qualms with asking for Team Seven to clean house.

That was a last resort however. Her thoughts drifted to Kiba. They had become close after his mother's death. Kiba wanted to formalize their relationship with a marriage. Traditionally the idea of a Hyūga heiress or a clan head marrying an Inuzuka would be unheard of; but now? Anything was possible. Hinata had seen how short life's thread was and how easily it could be severed. Her mother. Her sensei. Her father.

'The timing is wrong but one day soon I will accept.'

*****BREAK*****

Jiraiya had returned from Mount Myoboku and met with Shikaku, Kakashi and Naruto.

Nara asked, "Well?"

Jiraiya shrugged helplessly, "Prophecies are vague. One of my students would change the world. Does that mean Minato? Nagato? Naruto?"

Naruto held little stock in prophecies, which didn't surprise the Hokage considering who his sensei was.

Shikaku didn't venture an opinion either way other than to say, "Troublesome. No new information from the toads. No confirmation yet that it is Nagato. Until we learn more we should focus on Kumo."

That sounded reasonable to Kakashi.

"My team will head out in a week and start destroying the outposts and border fortifications of **Kaminari no Kuni** (Land of Lightning)."

Jiraiya knew Kakashi's team was best suited for the task. They could travel swiftly and had three S class shinobi. Sakura was by no means a slouch either. Her genjutsu and fuinjutsu support might as well have given the team the strength of four S class shinobi all on their own.

"Remember Kakashi, you're there to bloody their nose. If a 'target of opportunity' arises I don't want you going off on your own. Hit your targets and get back to Konoha."

"Maa, maa don't be so worried." Kakashi waved off the Hokage's concern.

Jiraiya furrowed his brow, "I mean it Kakashi. The jinchuuriki are being hunted. They will be targeting Naruto. I'll be taking steps to ensure that no one realizes Naruto is gone but I don't want you to take any chances."

"Hai Hokage-sama," Kakashi intoned.

Naruto added, "Don't worry pervy sage, we got this. You just make sure nobody invades while we're gone."

Shikaku just shook his head, "Troublesome."

The discussion shifted to other issues in the village. The rebuilding was going well. The first crop of 'graduates' of Naruto's basic shinobi reassessment were ready to go. The added genin would help backfill the genin they would be providing promotions for. Given the war there would be no chūnin exams and the standards would be made laxer. They needed to rebuild their combat squads and be ready for the next phase in the war. Jiraiya wasn't a fan of putting shinobi who weren't 100% ready into the fray but sometimes training in the field had to occur.

The rest of Fire Country was struggling. The northern parts needed supplies and craftsmen but with that part of the country most likely to have enemy shinobi potentially arriving there was little incentive for anyone to travel there. The economies of all of the nations except for the Land of Water had suffered a blow as goods were no longer travelling back and forth. Banditry was on the rise and despite the heavy losses Jiraiya had no choice but to send out shinobi to deal with it lest anarchy reign.

The good news was that Iwa was still reeling from events and Suna had honored their alliance in spades. The Land of Earth hadn't been able to put up much a defense. Eventually they would get their act together but for now their contribution to the war would be minimal outside of their own borders.

Shikaku's spy network did have one piece of alarming news. Kumo was actively courting the normally neutral samurai. If they entered the war it could make things very difficult. From his travels Jiraiya knew that samurai were not to be trifled with. Their rigid focus on kenjutsu made them predictable but quite deadly in close quarters. Of all the hidden villages Kumo had the most in common with them.

Jiraiya thought about it and then stated, "We'll want to have a team go in person and present our case." He looked at Naruto, "Who would you recommend?"

Naruto felt the weight of responsibility settling on his shoulders. He glanced at Kakashi and then back at the Hokage.

"We should send Neji, Tenten and Lee. Neji and Lee are a fantastic combination. Lee's great weakness is his susceptibility to genjutsu which is countered nicely by Neji's ability to see through visual genjutsu, which is the most commonly used. Both of them are formidable fighters and Neji has the bearing of a noble."

Naruto continued, "Tenten is a weapons expert and will get along well with a land full of people who like to carry swords. Since they were already on a genin team together they will have great teamwork. We have a strong team that can act in diplomatic situations and is almost impossible to ambush."

Kakashi gave him an eye smile that signaled his agreement.

Shikaku couldn't find any fault with the analysis either. While teams were frequently set up in four man blocks it wasn't a requirement. The fewer that went the more easily their presence could be masked from Kumo's agents.

Jiraiya smiled, "Good choices Naruto, we'll give them a day to get ready and then they will be off. I'll let you handle the mission briefing."

Naruto felt a bit awkward giving orders to three shinobi from a class that graduated before him. It wouldn't be difficult since the control Kakashi had taught him would ensure no tremor entered his voice when he spoke with them. Likewise there would be no nervous eye movement or gestures, he would radiate an air of jovial authority that fit his reputation but also called for respect.

It would be the first time he ordered shinobi on a mission. If they were killed on the mission it would be because he had selected them for it. That worry gnawed at his gut. His thoughts were with the three who would be sent out. The final thought was the one that would keep him up at night.

'Sending shinobi out on life and death missions. This is what it means to be Hokage. Do I really want this?'

*****BREAK*****

The wedding between Sasuke and Ami was a rushed affair. Sasuke was impatient to begin rebuilding his clan and Ami was thrilled at being the first 'Mrs. Uchiha.' Despite the hasty arrangements there were an absurd number of guests.

The last Uchiha was getting married. It represented many things, not the least of which was hope in a troubled war time. The village knew that Sasuke would likely be on the front lines of any conflict and each time he went out to fight for the glory of Konoha a single misstep could cost him his life and the village their most powerful dojutsu.

Sasuke didn't care too much about the masses. He did care quite a bit about his teammates and his sensei. They were all in attendance and he cherished the thought that one day his children would look up to Naruto and Sakura as an uncle and an aunt.

The ceremony was mercifully swift and the village was happy for Ami. It was clear to all that she was on cloud nine at being able to marry Sasuke. Even the other girls who wanted Sasuke's hand weren't too bent out of shape since she would not be the last woman he married.

The celebration kicked off and there was dancing and drinking. Much merriment was to be had; however that led to one happy bride drinking a bit too much. Ami wasn't an overtly cruel young woman despite her early years. However with drink she grew more bold and more self satisfied in her lot in life.

She could be heard several times saying that clearly she was the most beautiful and perfect woman in the village for her to be selected first by Sasuke-kun. While Sasuke found that behavior annoying it wasn't enough to truly rile him up.

But then she set her sights on Sakura.

"You know Sakura I used to be sooo jealous that you got to be a kunoichi and be on Sasuke-kun's team. It made me so mad. But look at us now. I ended up getting Sasuke and you got stuck with the class clown!"

Naruto wasn't bothered by the words. He had no insecurities about his place in the village. He was Naruto Namikaze. His actions had saved thousands of lives and one day he would be the Hokage. The words only annoyed him in the sense that they were insulting to Sakura.

Sakura could also care less. The girl was drunk and high on life right now, let her have her petty 'win' on the day she got married.

Sasuke wasn't quite so forgiving. Killing intent brought all of the revelry to a sudden halt. It wasn't directed at the crowd. It was focused on his bride who felt sudden terror in every fiber of her body. She couldn't even move aside from trembling like a leaf in a storm.

"You will not insult my friends. One word from either of them and I will set you aside at a moment's notice."

His icy tone sent shivers down Ami's spine.

Sakura started to say it was all right but Sasuke silenced her with a look.

"Now apologize."

Ami's teeth were chattering and she was stuttering like Hinata had once done in the Academy. But she managed to push out her apologies to both Naruto and Sakura. Only then did the oppressive killing intent lift.

Ami looked around at everyone staring at her. Some with shock, others with pity and others with scorn. What was supposed to have been her most joyous day had turned into utter humiliation. She took one last look and the crowds and burst into sobs, fleeing from the area.

Jiraiya, who was in attendance, buried his head in his hands. He had hoped to get some inspiration from what should have been a romantic event, something his female readers enjoyed immensely. Instead this happened.

Naruto looked at Sasuke, "You know her words didn't bother us. That's a crazy way to start your first day of marriage."

"Hnn, it didn't bother you but it bothered me. Naruto you are my brother. Sakura you are my sister. Those who disrespect you, disrespect me. I won't stand for it."

Sakura had mixed feelings. On the one hand she was glad to hear how strongly he valued them but on the other she felt pity. Sasuke wasn't looking for love in these marriages; his words on their disastrous date were more haunting now than ever.

_"Sakura I have never felt what you want me to feel. I don't know if I'm capable of it." _

Sakura knew that Sasuke had been broken by his brother on that horrible night when his family was murdered. Not many people understood just how damaged he was. If it had not been for the strong bonds Kakashi had forged with team seven she wondered if Sasuke would care about a single other living soul.

'Kami I hope this changes when he has children.'

*****BREAK*****

It was a day before Kakashi's team would head out. Since Sakura was no longer needed to help with the unsealing of the Caged Bird Seal she was free to push her creative mind further into the applications of fuinjutsu in combat.

Today she had placed the finishing touches on the 'ANBU suit' as she liked to call it.

Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke watched as the fuinjutsu prodigy went over the various seals on the dark body suit and mask. Naruto already knew most of it as it was his clones that did most of the heavy lifting in terms of the workload. Sakura was the idea girl and Naruto just needed to be taught the various seals and the amount of chakra used. From there mass production was easy.

"We'll start with the mask. The mask has hardening seals which will prevent all but the strongest projectile from shattering it. It won't stop a Futon laced kunai thrown by Naruto-kun but anything short of that will leave nothing but a scratch."

The seal design was actually fairly simple and was already in use on buildings. The only change had been to miniaturize it which had been completed with etching as opposed to chakra ink.

"There are additional seals on the inside of the mask that filter air. Poisonous substances will be filtered out so clean air can be breathed. Depending on the saturation of gas there might not be enough clean air which is why a tiny storage seal has been added with oxygen. It requires a tiny burst of chakra to activate but you'll be able to breathe clean air for an additional 10 minutes."

Naruto knew she planned on having the masks provided to ANBU and then eventually to any shinobi who desired one.

Sakura continued. The sunny day paralleled her personality that morning. Talking about fuinjutsu was a passion of hers.

"Next we get to the suit itself. It isn't very bulky, far less so than a standard flak jacket. However every inch of it has seals that strengthen it from strikes. It isn't as strong as the mask but it should stop all projectiles and anything a chūnin could throw at it. Flame retardant seals are standard."

Sakura was wearing one of the suits and she asked Sasuke to demonstrate by unleashing a **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique).

Sasuke gave her look but when she nodded he blurred through the hands seals and sent a massive fireball her way. Sakura had hastily placed her mask on and the fireball exploded and covered her with flames. When the smoke cleared Sakura gave the victory symbol as her team inspected her for any damage.

"But that isn't all this suit can do. I'll need some clones to demonstrate some of the offensive capabilities."

Naruto created a few of his Kage Bunshin.

"Now block my downward strike," she ordered.

The clone blocked her descending knife hand. As soon as it made contact with the suit a flurry of razor sharp metal exploded from the edge of Sakura's covered hand. It instantly ventilated the clone who dissipated.

"Pressure based storage seals are located on the palms, the edge of the hand, the foot, the knee and on the back. When you push chakra into the seal it unleashes what is basically one of my kunai scrolls however instead of kunai it is shredded metal. With the air pressure built into the seal it will make mincemeat of all but the fastest jōnin level opponents."

Kakashi was impressed. It did not pay to be a taijutsu specialist in the brave new world Sakura was taking them into.

"With time we can modify the suits to each shinobi's unique needs. The possibilities are endless. A tiny trickle of chakra and sulfuric acid could spray from your palms. Or one of my special kunai surprises that worked so well against Iwa."

She held up a finger, "There is one drawback however. The seals do require chakra to operate and in order to fit them all in it takes a significant amount of chakra to keep it running for three days. However I'm getting around that by using our little chakra battery here."

"Gee, thanks Sakura-chan…"

"But that isn't going to work for ANBU teams," Kakashi admonished.

"True but if we put the entire suit in a stasis scroll the chakra bleed would be minimal allowing us to mass product these and only bring them out right before a fight."

Kakashi saw weaknesses in the idea since you didn't always know when you would be getting into a fight. However having those available when you would know, like when a massive shinobi army attacked the walls of Konoha, they would be another formidable weapon in Konoha's arsenal.

Sakura finished her demonstration, "So who is ready to field test these against Kumo?"

**AN:** Yes Mui is from a Naruto movie and no I'm not including the plot of that movie in this story. However I really didn't want all of the folks the Akatsuki recruited to be OCs or Orochimaru's flock.

Please review if you enjoyed it!


	56. Chapter 55: This is War

**AN: **My story comes in waves. It tends to have lots of fighting broken by several chapters of plotting and new developments. Some folks are eager to get back to the full throttle battles – I ask for patience as we will get there. But it may be a few more chapters before the next **major** clash.

Special thanks to GJMEGA for being this story's beta!

**Chapter 55: **This is War

Team Seven moved out for Kumo. They were clad head to toe in the black fuinjutsu suits Sakura had supplied. Kakashi already had some specific modifications he would like for his suit that he would talk to Sakura about when they returned.

The countryside of Hi no Kuni blurred past them. They would be crossing a couple of countries before they reached Kumo but it wouldn't take them long moving at the speed they were going.

The plan was simple, reach the borders of the Land of Lightning and destroy any defensive bastions and shinobi patrols they encountered. After shattering their outer defenses they would retreat back toward Konoha. Kumo wouldn't know for sure if this was a prelude to a larger invasion or just an attack of opportunity. They would waste time and manpower and before they could get their act together Team Seven would be back in Konoha.

It was only the first phase in a multi step plan that Shikaku and Kakashi had hashed out.

Sasuke was eager to try his new Sharingan abilities out. So far his eyes had not weakened like Kakashi's eye had with repeated use. Likely Susanoo would be overkill for whatever they faced but even weak opponents could still allow him to test the chakra construct and his other new abilities.

Sakura was less eager. While this was war and not murder she knew that this was basically an execution. The defending Kumo shinobi didn't stand a chance. Field experimentation was well and good but if the caliber of their opponents wasn't challenging enough it would mean little. Besides she would much rather be working on refining some of her ideas for her next project.

Naruto's mind wasn't in the game. Oh, he kept his senses sharp and ensured he wouldn't be caught off guard in an ambush, but his thoughts were not on the mission. Instead they were focused on Neji, Lee and Tenten. Sending out shinobi on a mission was nerve wracking to him and his thoughts constantly flittered back to their safety.

Kakashi approached the mission the same way he did all missions. It was another job and he would do it the best of his ability.

The four had very different thoughts going through their heads but when the time came for jutsu and kunai they would act as one.

******BREAK*****

Dai Munashi had not been happy since the council meeting where the Mizukage had declared their village would be neutral in the coming conflict. He knew he was one of the best kenjutsu specialists in the village but outside of Kiri no one knew his strength. The thought of being an old man before being acknowledged by the wider world was simply unacceptable.

In a clearing on his family property he worked out his frustrations by doing a set of blistering fast blade strikes. He lost himself in the steady rhythm of his blade work. Outside of true battle this was what he reveled in. The blade he used was a simple katana, what he did with it was where the magic happened.

Kisame let some of his chakra loose that he had been tightly coiling as he watched the young Munashi go through his blade routines. Dai's eyes instantly went to him as he walked out of the mist.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Kisame complimented.

Dai had the confidence and brashness of youth but even with it he knew he was outmatched. This was the mist's greatest swordsman and one of its greatest traitors.

"What do you want?" His voice was tight and harsh.

Kisame revealed his shark teeth, "You. It's obvious you're not pleased with little Mei's refusal to join the war. What if I gave you a way to fight? To test your mettle against my enemies?"

The ice had been broken and soon Dai had agreed. Kisame was a bit disappointed that Sasori's intel was again accurate. Just once he'd like to see the creepy puppet master be wrong about these things.

'Ah well, it will be good to have another swordsman with us.'

*****BREAK*****

It was good to be back with her old teammates. Tenten had missed the two of them even though they had driven her crazy when she was a genin. Age had mellowed out some of their more annoying traits.

Neji was not longer so fatalistic about… well… everything. Gai had taught him a final lesson with his death and now the young man had abandoned his talk of fate. In fact lately Neji was smiling far more often. Tenten wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Maybe he was happy that Hinata was now in charge of the clan?

Rock Lee had also changed. The death of his sensei had been a colossal blow and he had been depressed for over a month. He finally found a way to deal with his grief and respect what Gai had taught him. While he was still prone to challenging himself to difficult tasks he didn't do it nearly as often. And he was a bit easier on the ears too.

"What do you expect we'll find when we get there?" Tenten asked her two companions.

Neji, who had the most knowledge of the Land of Iron, shrugged, "The samurai tend to keep to themselves. They are very traditional and generally look down on shinobi."

"If that's the case why is the Hokage worried they might side with Kumo?"

"Mifune is different. He has fought with shinobi in the past and has even visited the Elemental Nations on numerous occasions. Unlike his predecessors he keeps watch on the shinobi world. The samurai cherish their way of the sword and Kumo nin are respectful of this. Several Kumo shinobi have actually apprenticed themselves to the samurai for a while."

Lee pumped his fist into the air, "If it were easy the Hokage would not have brought our team back together. We must show them that we have honor as well and that Kumogakure is the one who started this conflict!"

Tenten questioned Neji about what else he knew about the potential players in **Tetsu** **no** **Kuni** (Land of Iron).

"Mifune's right hand man and the samurai in charge of security is Okisuke. He doesn't like shinobi at all which is good since we know he'll recommend not aiding Kumo."

Neji continued, "The one in charge of trade with the Elemental Nations is Urakaku. He's hard to read but the Hyūga have a cordial relationship with the man. That is who we will meet with first to see if we can get an audience with Mifune himself."

With the plan in place they continued their journey. They were on guard, with Kumo nin also being in the area they needed to be prepared for anything.

*****BREAK*****

Konohamaru had received the promotion to chūnin. With his sensei Ebisu still going through extensive physical rehabilitation after his encounter with the Tsuchikage it made sense to keep the team intact and simply add another. It would allow Konohamaru to gain experience leading teams, though all of the missions would be within Hi no Kuni.

Hanabi Hyūga was the 4th member of the team. She was younger than Udon, Moegi and Konohamaru but she had been trained by her house from a very young age. Konohamaru had been embarrassed after he actually lost a taijutsu spar with her. He was confident he could beat the young Hyūga in a full out fight but when it came to taijutsu she had his number. It was quite annoying considering Hanabi had graduated the Academy early and was two years younger than he was.

For her part Hanabi was glad to finally be a shinobi. Beating her new team commander gave her a boost in pride but Hinata's orders to have Kō act as her escort even after becoming a genin had knocked the wind out of her sails.

Kō did not mind watching over Hanabi just as he had not minded watching over Hinata. It was an honor and one that showed Hinata-sama trusted him implicitly. Having the seal removed had made him more, not less, loyal to the main branch line.

Kō's thoughts were interrupted when he saw four of the clan elders arrive at the training grounds. He immediately approached them as Konohamaru called a halt to their training.

"We have come to take Hanabi to her sister. Your presence is no longer required Kō." The elder spoke in a low confident tone. He expected obedience.

Kō bowed his head, "Forgive me but I have received orders from Hinata-sama herself to be by Lady Hanabi's side at all times."

The female elder frowned, "Remember your place! You have your orders but surely they do not entail refusing a command from one of us."

Kō remained steadfast. "Honored elder I mean no disrespect but I do not interpret Hinata-sama's orders, I follow them to the letter. If you find me at fault, please report it to Hinata-sama."

The lead speaker stepped forward and loomed a bit, "Kō Hyūga I am an elder of the family and I order you to relinquish Hanabi into our care. Do not try my patience."

Konohamaru was well aware of the Caged Bird Seal and the effects it could have on the branch family. He did not want to see the torture seal used. He stepped forward between them.

"Regardless of Lady Hyūga's orders I am the commander of this genin cell and I say that training is not done."

The elders glanced at each other nervously. Dealing with the Sarutobi clan wasn't what they had bargained for.

"Konohamaru this is a private affair of the Hyūga clan. I am sure training can wait for another day."

Konohamaru folded his arms across his chest and simply replied, "No."

The elders were at a cross roads. One of the ones who had not yet spoken retorted angrily.

"Regardless of what you say boy you will not interfere in a private clan matter." After saying these words he formed the seal that would leave Kō in agony on the ground. Only much to everyone but Kō's surprise nothing happened.

The lead elder stared at Kō as if he had grown horns and transformed into a bijū. He attempted to activate the seal again. There was no effect.

"What… what have you done?"

The female elder dashed forward and chakra crackled at her fingertips as she leaped at the branch member. At the same time she shouted at the rest, "Take them, none can know of this!"

Kō was no Neji, however he was probably the 2nd strongest branch member in the Hyūga clan and he was in his prime. He deflected the older kunoichi's attacks and shouted, "Hanabi run!"

He didn't know why the four clan elders wanted Hanabi but it couldn't have been for anything good. Hinata would never have sent them like this for her sister.

Hanabi had been given an order but was torn on what to do. Udon and Moegi tossed a barrage of kunai at one of the elders. While their accuracy was on point, for a Hyūga it was easy to deflect projectiles and they did little but slow down the advance of the other main house elders. But even that short period of time was vital as Konohamaru swiftly bit his thumb and gave a tremendous shout.

**"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" **(Summoning Technique)

*****BREAK*****

Liqiu was something of a taijutsu prodigy in Kumo. While only 13 years old she had already reached the rank of chūnin**. **Considering the inherent weakness taijutsu users faced against kenjutsu this meant her taijutsu was actually at the level of a jōnin. Her short cropped light blue hair was kept short so it wouldn't interfere with her complicated acrobatic attacks.

She like, the other members of the five different teams manning the outpost on this section of the border of their country, was tense. If the enemy marched here they were the first line of defense. Many thought it was only a matter of time. It comforted her that her older sister Niu was also stationed here.

How she hated Konoha and their cruel schemes. She had seen the jovial Killer B perform one of his 'rap' sessions in front of the crowds. She had remembered thinking him a blundering fool who was utterly harmless. And she had watched as the jinchūriki fought the strange Konoha team that had waltzed into their village. She had never imagined that the man she had considered a fool would fight with such ferocity. But in the end no matter how many times the Konoha shinobi seemingly were defeated they would emerge whole out of a giant mouth. In the end they had captured the Raikage's brother while the village watched helplessly.

Since then two months had passed as she brutally trained her body. She vowed to herself that she would never be so helpless in front of an enemy again.

The afternoon brought a small cool breeze. All was clear on her end when a massive surge of chakra filled the air. It was immense. And it was coming from above. She felt an ominous foreboding as the chakra grew heavier and the breeze stopped. The jōnin commander of the outpost shouted.

"Get away from the outpost. NOW!"

Liqiu didn't have to be told twice as she jumped over the wooden railing and raced down the side of the construct. She saw others from her team do the same. She got to the ground and continued racing away from the structure when the entire fortification was smashed to pieces. A heavy force with the strength of a meteor had slammed into the fortress. It was obliterated and wooden shrapnel was blasted in all directions.

Liqiu was thrown off her feet and she flipped backwards bringing her arms up to protect her vital areas. Wooden shrapnel streamed past her at speeds faster than any thrown kunai. She rolled into the ground and broke her fall adroitly. The kunoichi looked frantically for her sister and exhaled in relief when she saw she was fine if a bit bloody from the fall. Their jōnin commander was alive as well though he had a vicious gash in his leg. Through the haze she could see another couple of survivors but that was it.

Fifteen shinobi dead in an instant.

She swallowed and saw the enemy. Four Konoha nin in dark ANBU uniforms. Their faceless masks, she knew, hid faces that were probably filled with sadistic glee at the lives they had just snuffed out. Rage gripped her as her fists clenched. She advanced forward ready and eager to avenge her comrades.

The foe that broke off to fight her was slightly taller than her. Tufts of pink hair peaked out above the white mask that concealed her features. To Liqiu's right she saw her commander ready his wakizashi. However he had not gone forward three steps when black fire sprang around him. It burned him horribly and he let out an involuntary scream of pain. She saw her sister quickly attempt to douse the flames with her Suiton jutsu. But the effort was futile as the water proved impotent against the black flames.

The screams filled her mind as she closed on the enemy kunoichi. She put on a burst of speed and dived low coming up with a surprise rising kick. Her opponent blocked the blow and pushed her leg away but she was already compensating and delivered several quick strikes. Each blow was blocked skillfully.

She heard her sister give out a cry of pain along with the splash of wind and water. She redoubled her efforts to take down her enemy. The enemy blocked a punch but it left her wide open. Grinning, Liqiu slammed her elbow into the hateful mask.

It did no damage to her enemy and hurt her own elbow. Her opponent's head was knocked back from the blow slightly but the mask didn't even have a dent on it.

'Fine, if that doesn't work I'll strike somewhere else.'

Earlier her opponent had been able to block her attacks but now she was allowing openings. Liqiu was worried about a trap but with her commander burning to death and her sister in trouble it was no time to be cautious. Her fist slammed into the belly of her opponent only for her knuckles to be bruised. It was like punching steel. The blow caused her opponent to be pushed back a step but other than that it hadn't even fazed her!

Snarling in rage she unleashed another taijutsu barrage. Now even more of her blows were getting through. A punch to the shoulder, a knife hand to the ribs, a kick to the leg and another kick to the chest. All succeeded in accomplishing absolutely nothing. Her hands were hurting and she had been unable to deal a single decent blow.

The battle field became silent. The screams had stopped. She looked frantically around and spotted not a living comrade in sight. Her sister's body lay on the ground in a pool of blood. Sorrow warred with rage. Her entire team, her commander and her sister were all dead. And she couldn't do a single thing to stop them. All of her training was useless. Just like when they took Killer B she was utterly helpless. A shinobi wasn't supposed to show emotion but tears now glistened on her cheeks.

A voice spoke, "The only one who might have had any actionable intelligence is now a burnt corpse. This one won't know anything of use."

There was no doubt what was going to happen next but she would not die on her knees. The thirteen year old girl let out one last battle cry and charged forward. Her fist arched forward with all of the power she could muster. The pink haired shinobi darted to the side and countered with a palm strike. Liqiu brought her other arm up to block and pain was the price.

From her enemy's palm scores of razor sharp metal shards sped forward and ripped her arm apart. Several of the shards ripped into her shoulder chest and imbedded themselves in her lungs. The impact and momentum of the shards drove her to the ground as she coughed up blood. She knew it was a mortal blow. She weakly tried to inhale only to aspirate her life's blood. Her last thoughts were ones of hatred and grief for the monsters of the Leaf before a kunai mercifully ended her suffering.

*****BREAK*****

Fuyu was frustrated with her task. She was responsible for bringing in 19 other jōnin together and forging them into a team that could kill opponents like the Sannin and Kakashi. As she looked over every dossier she grew more and more frustrated. Every single S ranked shinobi from Kumo was dead. The idea of any of these shinobi being able to stand up to someone of Jiraiya's caliber was laughable.

So far she had only picked three of her best scouts and one medical nin skilled with chakra scalpels. That was it. She had spent two months attempting to figure out who should be in her elite assassination squad and indecision was crippling her. She had over 50 names in the 'maybe' pile and twice that in the definite 'no' pile but she was no closer to rounding out the remaining 15 than she was two weeks ago.

And now Tezuka Yotsuki, the new Raikage, had demanded an update on the status of the Kinkaku Force.

She bowed low, "Raikage-sama, forgive me but I have made little progress."

The older shinobi stared at her intently, his features were expressionless.

"Konoha could strike at any moment and we need something to counter their monstrous shinobi. We cannot afford delay."

"Hai, I understand but when I look over everyone's abilities I cannot see how we can win with any sort of consistency. If we just fought Tsunade or the Hokage by themselves 20 to 1 we could win, but when will they be alone? I fear any name that I select will be another shinobi doomed to die."

Tezuka did not respond right away. Instead he let the silence stretch between them. It was very different than how the previous Raikage behaved. He was all action and you always knew where you stood with him. Yotsuki was the opposite. She didn't know if he enjoyed watching his subordinates squirm or if that was just a vicious rumor, but she hoped he would speak soon and break the repressive silence.

"And if they are doomed to die why not have them go out in a blaze of glory? I will grant you full access to all of the kinjutsu known to us. Many of the techniques are kinjutsu because they involve great sacrifice of body or sometimes even one's life to use."

Fuyu didn't like the sound of that. But there was logic there. Hadn't the Raikage died at the hands of a kinjutsu? It cost his killer his life but he was dead and the invasion halted all the same. It was unlikely they would have something like the Hachimon in the sealed archives but there may be other techniques that were banned that could do something similar. And all it would take was the probable cost of one shinobi's life. As members of Kumogakure she and anyone else would be proud to die for their village while taking out such a tremendous threat.

"Thank you Raikage-sama for your wisdom. I will have my team review the kinjutsu and then make my selections within the week."

Without saying another word the Godaime waved his hand and dismissed her. Fuyu left and headed down the sealed area where the kinjutsu were kept. She felt hope for the first time in a month. Somewhere in those dark and dusty archives lay something she could give her team; something that could equalize the battlefield. If it required the sacrifice of her life she would give it, but she would look for any way to avoid that. She had a promise to fulfill and a brother to avenge before she would allow herself to die.

*****BREAK*****

An explosion of smoke revealed the mighty form of Enma the Monkey King. The Hyūga elder's stopped. They had not expected the personal summon of the Sandaime to appear before them. Enma took in the scene and snorted.

"What is going on here?"

Konohamaru looked angry, "These idiots tried to attack me and they attacked Hanabi's bodyguard."

The lead elder was quickly grasping at straws on how to proceed. Attacking the Monkey King was tantamount to suicide. This summon was able to make a difference in Kage level battles. Even if they had been in their prime it was doubtful they could win the encounter now.

"Enma-sama we are here at the behest of Lady Hinata to retrieve her sister. We were stopped by this branch member and young Konohamaru was confused and thought we were in the wrong. Please take young Sarutobi in hand and we will take Hanabi and Kō with us back to the Hyūga estates."

The old monkey looked at the elders with disdain. He was not impressed with the lies he was hearing. Barely restrained killing intent still radiated from the four elders.

Enma spoke in a deep voice, "We go to the Hokage tower and this will be sorted out there."

The elders protested but when Enma insisted they faced the choice of outright battle or obedience. The chief summons of the various animal clans did not care about Hyūga prestige. The four were feverishly thinking of how they could get out of the situation. Their plan was in shambles and they would soon be at the mercy of an angry Hokage.

Not only was their plan ruined but the clan as they knew it was being swept away. Hinata had always spoken out against the Caged Bird Seal and now she had somehow freed one of the branch members. Unsealed branch members would be under no obligation to listen to the main branch! They marched to the Hokage tower with growing trepidation. The Hyūga clan as they knew it had been stolen from them and their scheming would take them out of the game. In their minds Hinata and her softhearted ways would kill the clan and their ability to take any sort of action was now marginalized.

*****BREAK*****

Mabui had arrived in the Land of Iron with her bodyguards. She had been instrumental in organizing a clean succession and allowing the Godaime Raikage to assume control. However Tezuka preferred his own assistant after the initial handoff had occurred. This was fine for Mabui since the man's cold demeanor was a constant reminder that the Yondaime Raikage was dead and gone.

However, Mabui's knowledge of international politics would not go to waste. Tezuka's clan had paved the way for a private audience with Mifune himself to plead Kumo's case. Her arguments were lined up and in two days time she would do her best to win the support of the samurai. As a jōnin herself she knew that Kumo could not win as they were now. Either Kirigakure or the Land of Iron would need to provide assistance or Konoha would destroy them.

A complication had arisen however. A team from Konoha had just arrived as well. With an opposing viewpoint it would be much harder to make their case. Her bodyguard proposed one solution that Mabui had concerns with. Atsui had recommended they kill the trio of Konoha nin that had arrived before they could say their piece. The problem was that there was no guarantee they would be victorious and it would cast their claims of Konoha aggression in doubt.

Atsui had been angry at her denial and he had stormed off. She had him followed just in case he decided to do something rash. He was a terrible choice to accompany her but it had been the Raikage's orders. For the life of her she couldn't begin to grasp the reasoning of sending someone who had been reprimanded for speaking out of turn on a diplomatic mission.

The Raikage's nephew Hidaka Yotsuki glanced at her worriedly, "You don't think he would actually try to confront the Konoha shinobi himself do you?"

The Raikage's nephew was a short and slender man. He was a genjutsu specialist like his uncle. As she understood it she had been saddled with him to show him how international diplomacy worked. Mabui found this curious because the boy was 17 and still a chūnin**. **Which was actually average, but why groom someone for leadership positions when they were mediocre? The young man's generally nervous nature also bothered her.

"I don't think he will but it doesn't hurt to be cautious. The loss of his arm and the death of his sister have made him bitter."

Hidaka tapped his fingers nervously on the table.

"What are you going to do about the Konoha shinobi?"

"Right now? Nothing. I will go forward and make my case to Mifune. I'll let him know how two faced the Leaf Village has been and about the abduction of the jinchūriki. I wish they weren't here but any move we make on them has the chance of backfiring terribly."

"Do you think they might come after us?"

Mabui shook her head, "We should be cautious but not paranoid. We have a dozen shinobi here and they only have three. We don't know enough about their team to determine how dangerous they are, but attacking us creates the same risk for Konoha as attacking them would for us."

That being said Mabui returned to her thoughts on how to best present the Raikage's case to the Taishō of Tetsu no Kuni.

**AN: **The title is a bit ambiguous but it is referencing poor Liqiu. The helplessness in the face of overwhelming power is a terrible thing and shows just how unfortunate war between these two nations really is.

Please review – and don't forget to check out my other Naruto story!

Also if you have any suggestions for new kinjutsu techniques feel free to leave them in a review!


	57. Chapter 56: Land of Iron

**AN: **Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to one and all! Reviews are the best Christmas gift I can get!

Special thanks to GJMEGA for his awesome beta work!

**Chapter 56: **The Land of Iron

Anko finished heaving the contents of her stomach.

"Fuck morning sickness," she said out loud even though on one was around to hear her.

She washed her mouth out and swore vengeance on Iruka for what he had done to her.

*****BREAK*****

Team Seven hit several more of Kumo's border fortifications. Some of them were manned by soldiers of the Daimyo while others had shinobi garrisoned. Regardless of who was defending them the results mattered little. Sakura was able to battle test her new seals and all four of them were getting comfortable with triggering the fuinjutsu seals in taijutsu encounters.

Sasuke became proficient with Amaterasu and Susanoo. Susanoo was a significant chakra drain but it acted as a nearly impenetrable defense and at the same time gave him a multiple of offensive options. He could use a sword or actually fire arrows of pure chakra at his opponents.

Needless to say between the brutal efficacy of Kakashi, the fuinjutsu and genjutsu of Sakura, the massive army of clones and powerful Futon jutsu and the heightened abilities of Mangekyō Sharingan there was nothing the valiant border forces could do to stop them.

This led to Sasuke growing impatient for a real fight.

"Kakashi-sensei why don't we just end this war? Head to Kumogakure and destroy the village once and for all."

Kakashi gave his eager pupil an eye smile. "Chakra is finite even for Naruto. Dealing with thousands and thousands of shinobi will exhaust our chakra reserves and eventually we would be overrun. I also have a feeling that Kumo will have a few tricks still up their sleeves."

"Hnn, I don't think they will be any challenge. I see your point about chakra but this is pathetic. We've been out here for two days and the last fortification we arrived at had been abandoned."

Naruto added his perspective, "Don't forget we don't want to get too winded in case we have to deal with more Akatsuki. I've reviewed the reports; those bastards hit Iwagakure and Kumogakure and got their jinchuuriki while we were defending Konoha. And that was with Kisame and Itachi, two of what we assumed were their strongest, interfering with our battle outside of Takigakure. They still have some heavy hitters and we don't want to let our guard down."

"Fine, fine I see the point. I guess there is nothing left to do but head back."

Kakashi agreed. Naruto whispered something to Sakura which made her snort with amusement. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the pair which caused Sakura to laugh again.

"What?"

"Nothing, just commenting that someone was probably looking for a reason to delay returning to Konoha," Naruto answered.

"Shut up." Sasuke growled. He knew they were poking fun at his less than cordial start to his first marriage.

Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. While they didn't have the professional decorum he was used to in ANBU he didn't mind cutting them some slack. They had exceeded even his high expectations. What Sasuke had said wasn't far off the mark. His Susanoo was something that very few shinobi had any answer to. And even with that strength Kakashi knew Naruto was even stronger. The boy's chakra reserves allowed him to abuse Kage Bunshin like no other shinobi. The pure speed and strength that was replicated with the shadow clones would allow a single clone to deal with any chūnin one on one. And if a single clone fought a jōnin it might very well win as well depending on the jōnin's specialty.

Sakura didn't have the village killing abilities of her two teammates but her fuinjutsu allowed her to be a force multiplier; even more than just enhancing her own team's abilities her seals were making every single Konoha shinobi more powerful once they became more widely distributed. Wherever Team Seven went they would crush their enemy but they couldn't be everywhere at once. Sakura's seals could be.

Kakashi would never allow over confidence to jeopardize his village, however looking at the conflict from a logical perspective they had this in the bag if the Akatsuki didn't step in and assist. The possibilities of the Rinnegan were disturbing and it was one of the final worries Kakashi had for the future of his young prodigies.

Kakashi signaled the team and they raced back toward Konoha. Another successful mission was complete.

*****BREAK*****

Atsui wasn't happy about the mission to the Land of Iron. It seemed obvious to him that this was a punishment for speaking out of turn. The new Raikage remembered even small slights and so he was sent into a non combat mission when all he really wanted to do was burn some Konoha shinobi.

He had taken the opportunity to leave the others and enjoy the night air. To many it would seem cold but Atsui was never touched by it. That thought reminded him of his sister and his mood soured again. The change in emotions was fortunate as he realized the tell tale signs of a genjutsu creeping into his chakra network.

Reacted with the speed and grace elite jōnin were known for he used Kawarimi to alter his position with a stone and then hastily flushed his chakra system with a forceful, "Kai!"

His reaction time had been fortunate as dozens of kunai smashed the stone and the area around it a moment later. Atsui let his senses drift out and he felt a trio of chakra signatures. He spotted two of them. One was throwing the spent kunai scroll to the side and pulling out a second. The other figure was kunoichi who threw a brace of kunai with explosive tags trailing the end of them.

'Konoha dogs!'

Atsui used one hand to form the necessary seals and launched **Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique). The massive dragon made of flame intercepted the two kunai and prematurely detonated the exploding tags. The dragon's fury was not yet spent as it raced toward the two shinobi. Both shinobi leaped away from the attack and the dragon detonated. The destructive attack collapsed a nearby building and seared one of the attacking shinobi.

Atsui was on guard now and so when he felt he intrusion of another genjutsu he swiftly negated the mentally unbalancing attack. He spotted a third figure that was likely responsible for the genjutsu draw a blade and make a bee line for him.

The Kumo shinobi was tempted to test his katana skills with his left arm but decided against it. Instead he launched one of his signature techniques. **Katon: Shibou Hari** (Fire Release: Death Needles). A tiny ball of fire raced toward the charging shinobi. Once it was only several feet away it detonated into tiny slivers of fire in all directions. The heat from the tiny bits of flame seared through the cobblestone and the walls of nearby buildings. The shinobi was perforated with dozens of the fiery needles however instead of dying the charging shinobi dissipated in a puff of smoke.

"Fucking shadow clones," Atsui snarled.

The singed shinobi turned and launched **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu"** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) at him. Atsui was insulted that the Konoha dog would attempt to use a fire jutsu on him. Using barely a trickle of his own chakra he pushed the flames away from him. The technique didn't have a name but what it essentially did was mix his own Katon chakra with the oncoming attack. He then had brief and tentative control of the flames which he used to shove the attack away from him.

All of this had occurred in less than 10 seconds and the alarm bells began to ring. The samurai would soon be on the way. A swarm of kunai rushed his way from the second scroll and he dodged to the side, preparing another Katon jutsu. Before he could accomplish that another of the leaf nin sprang at him and led with a kick. Atsui blocked with own leg and counter attacked with a knife hand strike. The enemy shinobi blocked the attack but the force of the blow was enough to dispel the Kage Bunshin.

He was about to return to his own jutsu when he noticed the two shinobi he initially saw were fleeing across the rooftops. He began to pursue, taking to the roofs himself. A patrol of samurai shouted, "Halt in the name of the Taishō."

Atsui longed to pursue the fleeing shinobi but he wasn't quite hot headed enough to ignore the direct commands of the samurai. If he did their diplomatic mission would end in shame.

"Fine but don't lose sight of them! There is another one around here somewhere too."

Atsui didn't hold out much hope the samurai would be able to catch them. Samurai weren't useless in a fight but their strength lay in kenjutsu not in stealth and subterfuge. Atsui was not wrong and would later learn all of the shinobi had escaped.

*****BREAK****

Neji, Lee and Tenten woke early and prepared for their meeting with Urakaku. Neji hoped Lee would remain restrained.

'They both have large eyebrows, maybe they can bond over that,' Neji thought sarcastically.

Neji had worn formal Hyūga robes. Tenten was not wearing her normal kunoichi gear. Instead she had opted to wear a kimono with a floral pattern that was in style within Tetsu no Kuni. And Lee… well he had been unable to convince Lee to go shopping for another outfit. And apparently green spandex was all the taijutsu expert owned.

The first concern Neji noticed when they arrived was the massive amount of security. There were far more samurai around every nook and corner than would be normal. He knew the Kumo delegation had arrived first. They may have poisoned the well so to speak and could have told stories about the team's true purpose here.

They were soon ushered into a room with Urakaku. The man was seated behind a desk and had a dozen samurai in the room lining the walls. Neji stepped forward and one of the armored men stepped in his path.

"You go no further shinobi."

His brow furrowed and he looked at Urakaku and inclined his head.

"I had expected a warmer greeting from my clan's friends in Tetsu no Kuni."

Urakaku stood up slowly and gestured with his hand dismissively.

"I have long been a friend to the Hyūga and a personal one to your father." He paused and then continued. "First and foremost I am a servant of Mifune-sama as you are a servant to Jiraiya. We serve Tetsu no Kuni and you serve Hi no Kuni. Our friendship cannot change those facts."

Tenten looked at Neji worriedly.

The Hyūga briefly considered how direct he should be. Ultimately he determined the best course would be to find out the why behind the hostility.

"Urakaku-sama your loyalty to your country is admirable and I would never expect that to change. I am curious why you think our respective loyalties would prevent our clan's continued friendship."

The man's gaze narrowed, "Do not play us for fools. You are at war with Kumo and have attempted to assassinate one of their diplomats on our soil. Starting a conflict with someone the Taishō had granted safe passage is an attack on our honor."

Neji's eyes widened slightly.

"I assure you Konoha did not attack anyone within your land. Why would we risk conflict with you? Our purpose is to reaffirm your neutrality in the coming conflict."

Urakaku made a gesture and one of his guards approached and handed Neji an empty kunai scroll.

"This was found at the scene of the ambush."

Tenten interjected, "There are thousands of those scrolls across Hi no Kuni! Anyone could have taken one and resealed the kunai after any of the battles Kumo won when they invaded."

"You are denying all knowledge of the attack and proclaiming your village's innocence?"

Neji nodded gravely, "Hai, this is a plot to bring you into the conflict. I would not stain the honor of my clan by greeting you while sending assassins."

One of the doors slid open and a bald headed samurai walked in. Based on his appearance Neji knew him to be Okisuke the head of security for the Taishō."

"Shinobi have no honor," the newcomer announced.

Lee interrupted with a shout, "You are wrong! Yes shinobi use subterfuge but many abide by principals. I would never stab an ally in the back and I will always hold true to the Will of Fire!"

The sudden movement from Lee, who had gestured wildly, lead to several of the samurai to draw their blades and move forward to defend Okisuke.

Lee put his hands up and backed up a step.

Okisuke scowled, "You are under arrest and will be judged by the general himself. There you can plead your case and you will receive his justice."

Neji was at a crossroads. If he allowed the arrest to take place they would be slapped with chakra inhibiter seals and would truly be at Mifune's mercy. All three of them were incredibly skilled and fighting their way out wasn't impossible, but it would be difficult. It would also demolish any chance of working out a non aggression agreement with the Land of Iron.

With a sigh he signaled Tenten and Lee to allow the arrest to happen. Neji hoped that they would get a fair hearing. By reputation Mifune would at least listen to them before deciding their fate. Hopefully the false evidence that was being laid against them wouldn't be insurmountable.

*****BREAK*****

Deidara was to carry out the next part of the Akatsuki plan. Others were continuing the process of recruiting A ranked shinobi from around the Elemental Nations. It was his job to stir the pot a bit.

He flew thousands of feet in the air as he looked down at the specks and buildings from above. He was like a Kami up here. No kunai could reach him from where he stood upon his flying clay construct. But his bombs could certainly reach his victims.

This particular mission was beneath him but it was still an excuse to blow things up. The small village within Kaze no Kuni would soon learn that art was an explosion. He let the clay come out of his palms as he shaped it. For this mission nothing larger than C1 was needed but why not have some fun?

**Kibaku Nendo** (Explosive Clay) was so delightfully versatile. Manipulating his chakra he crafted a massive dragon that soared down at the village. The dragon spat out smaller clay constructs that raced ahead and detonated on the defenseless village. The citizens of Wind Country died in droves as they fled the bombs. Deidara's initial detonations had occurred in a circular pattern around the village which prompted the people to rush toward the center.

This meant they were honored to see the massive explosion that his C2 caused as it crashed into the center. He hoped they would appreciate his artistic talents in the fraction of a second they had before becoming incinerated.

The village hadn't even had any shinobi in it and he wondered why it had been targeted. He shrugged; he followed orders and got the chance to grace the world with his art. That was all he needed.

*****BREAK*****

Mabui was thrilled with the recent turn of events. The Konoha shinobi had been stupid enough to assault Atsui in the middle of the town! Now they were under arrest and Mifune was going to sit in judgment over their actions. Before that took place she would have her formal audience with him and Atsui would explain exactly what happened.

Soon she found herself in a room with Mifune and his advisors.

Mifune's voice wasn't harsh but it echoed with authority, "Mabui-san I welcome you to our land and I formally apologize for the near harm to your comrade. Security has been increased while you are here."

Mabui bowed, "You are too kind Mifune-dono. We regret that we have brought our conflict to your doorstep but the fate of the Elemental Nations hangs in the balance. I will not deceive you Taishō, Kumogakure is losing the war."

The man didn't change his expression at all and Mabui continued.

"Our Raikage was slain along with the best of our shinobi. We still outnumber Konohagakure but we have little that can stop their most powerful figures without horrendous casualties. You can balance the playing field and allow us the hope of success. Should Kumo and our ally Iwa fall it is only a matter of time until they conquer all of the Elemental Nations and come for you. Their Hokage has captured many of the bijū and as soon as their fresh crop of jinchūriki can be trained they will be unstoppable."

The old general responded, "It was my understanding that it was Kumo and Iwa who were the aggressors. You attacked Hi no Kuni and invaded Konoha itself."

"Hai this is true but it was only in response to the abduction of our jinchuriki. That was not the only incident that occurred either."

Mabui took a stack of papers from one of her folders and handed it to a samurai who presented it to Mifune.

"This is a list of other attacks that occurred. You'll see on page three is the late Darui's report. The enemies within our borders used advanced fuinjutsu techniques and matched the descriptions of nin that Konoha had reported missing."

Mifune scanned through the papers reading them quickly. The Kumo diplomat remained silent while he read. When he looked up she continued.

"We were manipulated into the war and then both ourselves and Iwa were attacked and lost the other jinchūriki. Here is my analysis that shows the similarity between the plot that sparked this war and what Sharingan no Kakashi did during the chūnin exams by revealing the Namikaze. They lured Iwa into a trap and we failed to heed that lesson and rushed blindly into war, which allowed their forces to capture more of the tailed beasts. Jiraiya is shrewd and growing ever more powerful."

Atsui was impressed by the kunoichi's eloquence and logical review of Konoha's actions. He knew that Konoha were sneaky bastards but he hadn't appreciated how sneaky they really were. Was all of it part of their larger scheme to get the tailed beasts? He knew how powerful the Hachibi was. He could only imagine the horror of it being unleashed alongside eight other such beasts. The leaf now had eight of the tailed beasts; they had been successful in every major objective in the war. In a moment of clarity the Katon specialist realized just how dire the situation now was.

The leader of Tetsu no Kuni was also starting to become convinced. He controlled his features and probed further.

"If we did agree to aid you what are you expecting?"

"We would be happy with whatever you can lend us, however our hope would be full support and a military alliance. With your troops being fresh and our numerical superiority we can turn the course of this war."

Mifune looked at Atsui and asked for a detailed retelling of the ambush he survived. Atsui made sure to leave no detail out. Mabui had coached him to tell the truth but to be as specific as possible. There were three pieces of evidence that linked Konoha to the attack; the use of Kage Bunshin, the kunai scroll and the use of Katon. While each technique or tool was replicable the fact that all three were present pointed towards a Konoha kill team.

Mabui watched Mifune carefully hoping to see a hint of what he was thinking. Mifune sat back and looked deep in thought.

When he finally spoke his voice betrayed curiosity.

"You are persuasive Mabui-san, however there is one question I cannot help but ponder. If Konoha is so calculating and effective with their deception why was their attack on Atsui so inept? Surely if they displayed the ability to manipulate the former Raikage and Tsuchikage they would realize such an attack would be counterproductive with their relations with us."

Mabui stood there in stunned silence. She had been by the Raikage's side for many years and understood international politics. If Konoha were the masters of deception that they seemed to be what was the attack on Atsui all about? An epiphany struck her and she struggled to control her features.

The Raikage didn't like Atsui. Atsui was a terrible choice for a diplomat. Konoha wasn't stupid. Atsui was partially crippled, though he was clearly still powerful. But being a cripple would make him more sympathetic as a victim of an assassination attempt.

Her mind raced as she now understood what had happened. Tezuka Yotsuki had planned for Atsui to be assassinated in Tetsu no Kuni.

'Two bird with one stone… that snake!'

Mabui couldn't reveal her thoughts. While the tactic was disgusting, underhanded and repulsive to her she was still loyal to her village. She still believed Konoha was a dangerous threat. And so she schooled her features and responded to the general's question.

"I can't answer that Mifune-dono. It could be their agents overestimated the consequences of Atsui's lost arm. Or perhaps they suffered too many losses amongst their ANBU and have less capable assassins on hand." She allowed a pregnant pause before continuing. "Or perhaps being the master manipulators they are they deliberately botched this attack in order to manipulate you. They would also know your keen wisdom and would have known you would find their ineptness in the attack as incongruous with their normal activity causing you to doubt the facts before you."

Okisuke wore a grimace on his face as he spat out, "Shinobi! Their treachery and deceits are as deep as the sea."

Mifune had much to think about. The idea that Konoha would fail in an assassination just to muddy the waters was disconcerting. He longed for the days of a simple conflict where the enemy was clearly your enemy.

"I will consider your words and hear from the imprisoned Konoha shinobi. We will discuss this on the morrow."

Mabui bowed deeply, "Thank you for your time Taishō."

*****BREAK*****

Fuyu had gone through hundreds of potential kinjutsu and already had several promising techniques. The costs of them were high but in the end it would be worth it. The Kinkaku Force would have the power to take down the S class monsters Konoha had produced. A few in particular were ones she saw as promising.

One was a kinjutsu that was similar to what the former Raikage had done with **Raiton no Yoroi** (Lightning Release Armor). It worked on the same principals; however the damage done to the nerve endings was permanent. It was called **Raiton: **_**Denkou Supīdo **__(Lightning Release: Lightning Speed). The damage to the nerves was incredible and if held longer than 30 seconds would lead to death. Even a few seconds would leave the shinobi unable to operate effectively. _

_However the speed it granted was on a similar level to the __**Raiton no Yoroi**__ (Lightning Release Armor) which would allow many shinobi to get a killing blow in within a moment of activating it. Even the Hokage had struggled with keeping up with the Raikage. _

_The next kinjutsu was also promising if very distasteful. It allowed chakra to be consumed and stored as kinetic energy. The advance lay in the fact that one didn't need to consume their own chakra, they could consume it from another individual. Unlike a normal __**Chakura Ky**_**ūin Jutsu** (Chakra Absorption Techniques) the chakra absorbed was lost permanently. It was foolish to do it with shinobi of the same village because you gained a temporary kinetic power in exchange for a permanent loss of your comrade's chakra. It was generally inefficient and was labeled as kinjutsu since high ranking shinobi could use it to garner more power for the released energy by taking advantage of low ranking shinobi. If its use became widespread the ninja ranks could be decimated.

Reading the history of its use showed the potential power. One shinobi had drained 30 ninja of all of their chakra. It had of course killed them. That ruthless shinobi had unleashed all of the energy in a single blow that had liquefied his opponent's body and shattered his own arm to pieces.

Kumo had the advantage of numbers but those numbers would be scythed down by the massive area jutsu of Konoha's elite. If her Kinkaku Force could drain chakra from the fodder who would die anyway… well why not? Wouldn't any Kumo shinobi die for the glory of their village? Needless to say it would have to be kept secret but it was one of the avenues that her Kinkaku Force would take.

By any means necessary she would succeed in her mission. They would hunt the likes of the Sannin and Sharingan no Kakashi. Many would die to give them the opportunity; she would ensure their sacrifice was not in vain.

**AN: **I really appreciate all of your reviews, since breaking 1,000 it seems like the story gets a lot more hits. I know I sound like a broken record but if you haven't done so already please check out my other story called "Nine Tailed Possession." It is a darker story than this one but it still has some lighter bits with character interactions.


	58. Chapter 57: The Best Laid Plans

**AN: **The same thing that happened to me before the Itachi fight happened here; I wrote into a wall and didn't know where to go. I've decided to make a few changes and start moving into the final arcs. I HATE the idea of abandoning a story so that won't happen. Some of the buildup ended up being unused however real life does work like that too!

**Chapter 57: **The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Baki looked over the reports with concern. The war with Iwagakure had been going well, however now they were striking back. Several villages near the border had been destroyed by the **Bakuha** **Butai** (Explosion Corps). They were a specialized set of Iwa shinobi skilled in the arts of demolition. What worried him was their delivery method. Somehow they were able to fly high above and drop their ordinance.

There were few shinobi capable of anything akin to flight. There were very few large winged summons that could carry a shinobi. Flight was considered impossible even for Futon specialists. That wasn't truly the case as shinobi in the past had used gliders to float on and through the subtle use of wind chakra could keep someone afloat for an entire day. However the Land of Earth, including the Explosion Corps, normal mode of operation was to use the earth as an entry and exit point not the sky.

The assistance from the other minor villages had been helpful and with them some of the moderate Iwa towns had capitulated. But if they could not stop the bombing of their own towns the economy would become crippled. Shinobi had to eat; they needed fresh gear such as kunai, soldier pills and explosive tags. Hi no Kuni had been purchasing absurd quantities of them for the war effort in order to fill their kunai scrolls. A good blacksmith was currently worth his weight in gold.

Previous wars had gone on longer but this one threatened to be more brutal. As the economies of the Elemental Nations had advanced they had become interconnected. This created a lot of efficiency but it also meant that in times of war where trade lines were cut off it meant rampant shortages. Baki cared more about the village than the civilians of his nation but if they were harmed too significantly the village would be vulnerable. Sunagakure grew almost none of its own food. The dessert did not allow for traditional crops to be grown like in the fertile lands of Hi no Kuni.

For now it wasn't a critical issue but if the war advanced much longer it could grow worrisome. Baki was eager for the war to end; he wanted to retire and hand over the mantle to his successor.

'Perhaps it is time to suggest to Jiraiya-dono that a bolder strike is required.'

*****BREAK*****

Neji and the others were taken to see Mifune. Before they were granted an audience they had chakra suppressing seals placed over them and were stripped of all weaponry. Tenten looked worried while Lee just looked resolved. If the worst came of the meeting their fate would be in the taijutsu specialist's hands. He didn't need chakra to be a lethal weapon and it was doubtful the chakra suppression seals would be able to stop the opening of the gates.

They entered the room and saw Mifune flanked by Okisuke and Urakaku. Around the room was a dozen armed and armored samurai all with hands on their hilts. The young Hyūga could tell that they were already predisposed to be unfriendly.

He bowed, "Greetings Mifune-sama. I hope to clear up any misunderstanding that has occurred." He motioned to his companions, "These are Rock Lee and Tenten, my comrades."

They each bowed and the Taishō looked at them gravely.

"You have been accused of attacking Kumo shinobi within our lands. Your village has also been accused of pursing a war in an effort to dominate the Elemental Nations."

Neji could see his spandex wearing friend fight back the urge to refute the man's claims.

"We have no knowledge of any such attack on Kumo shinobi. I would point out that it was Hi no Kuni that was invaded; and prior to that it was our ally Takigakure that was assaulted, whom we defended."

Okisuke glared at him, "We are wise to your shinobi tricks. You provoked your enemies by stealing their demons."

Neji looked at the samurai squarely in the eyes, "You have been misinformed. That is the work of a band of missing nin called the Akatsuki. We have fought these Akatsuki and killed a number of them including Hidan, Kakuzu, and Itachi Uchiha."

"Missing nin? A convenient excuse!" Okisuke retorted.

Neji remained calm and dignified, "It is the truth. Independent records can confirm Konoha claimed the bounty for Hidan and Kakuzu."

Urakaku made a dismissive gesture, "Proof that they were Akatsuki or that you slew them does not provide evidence that they are responsible for the capture of the bijū."

Neji frowned. Kumo had gotten here before they did and had poisoned their minds to Konoha.

"Konoha is strong despite the invasion, but it is not so strong that it can simultaneously fight off Iwagakure and Kumogakure in the field while striking the heart of both villages. If you believed that then you would believe we are nigh invincible."

Mifune considered the words and they had merit. It did seem strange that the Leaf Village was able to project such power while still fending off an invasion from four other villages. If they did have such strength the war would soon be over and Konoha would reign supreme with her allies. He could not make the wrong decision.

"Why did your village destroy **Moyagakure** (Village Hidden in the Haze) so completely? They were not even the primary parties responsible for the invasion."

Neji bowed, "I under your concerns Taishō but it is because Jiraiya-sama wishes peace that he acted this way."

Okisuke opened his mouth to speak but Mifune silenced him with a look.

"Our Hokage was sending a message to the minor villages. Konoha stands by its allies but will destroy her enemies. Because of our actions in the regrettable destruction of Moyagakure it led directly to the capitulation of **Shimogakure** (Village Hidden in Frost). While more lives were lost initially, it will lead to a greater preservation of life. We also ensured that the civilians were not harmed."

Mifune considered the matter and knew that hard choices had to be made in times of war. Both Kumo and Konoha had compelling arguments to make. He could detect no falsehood in either party but that was unsurprising, he was dealing with shinobi after all.

At this juncture however he knew that there was no proof that Konoha had assaulted the Kumo shinobi. Kumo could have faked the attack. Konoha could have planned it. Another village that disliked either one of the villages could have done it. The evidence pointed in the direction of Konoha but in many ways it was simply too convenient.

A long silence stretched while the shinobi waited for the samurai's decision.

"Return the other two to their cells. And bring Mabui-san here. I would here from the two parties directly and at the same time."

Lee looked questioningly at Neji who gave a slight shake of his head. As long as they had a diplomatic way out of this they needed to take it.

*****BREAK*****

Jiraiya glanced at the latest report from Naruto. They would be back in the village soon with the Land of Lightning border fortifications in ruins. Looking at the reports coming from the allied villages and Suna it appeared things were going well there too. Like a snake they were constricting around Iwa. Soon their Daimyo would have to attempt to break the sieges that were occurring on their major towns. When that occurred the plan was to use Kakashi's team to ruthlessly crush the counter attack.

Meanwhile Kumo would still be trying to come to terms with how to defend their own nation and would be in no position to counter attack. Once Iwa forces were destroyed out of their village, away from the defensive ground they favored, the inevitable attack on their village would be much more likely to succeed.

Rubbing his eyes he put down the report and stretched. He summoned a clone to watch over things in the tower and went to see how Tsunade was doing.

He was worried about her. He had wanted to pursue a relationship with her after the invasion however with Shizune's death… it didn't feel like the timing was right. It had been a few months now so maybe he could give it another go. At worst he would leave with a few new bruises and at best he could fulfill one of his lifelong dreams.

He had to clear his mind first. Thoughts about Yahiko and the others were never far from his mind. Why had he joined the Akatsuki? If Nagato was still alive and using the power of the Rinnegan what were his objectives? Why had his students gone so far off the path he had set them on?

'I guess I now know what sensei must have gone through after Orochimaru's defection.'

Forcing the thought out of his mind he left the tower and headed out to find Tsunade.

******BREAK******

Mabui had entered into the debate confident in being able to demolish her opposition. After all she had the weight of evidence, truth and intelligence on her side. However it soon became clear that the silver tongued Hyūga could match her point for point.

This was unexpected and troubling but what troubled her more was the fact that she was starting to believe the Konoha shinobi! It boiled down to something quite simple. If Konoha was able to waltz into Iwagakure and Kumogakure with impunity why hadn't they just finished both villages off? Their forces simultaneously fought six S ranked threats in four different locations! If they had that much power at their disposal why hadn't they finished them off? Why bother with obliterating tiny villages and stepping cautiously around the major ones?

With mounting horror Mabui was beginning to realize the notion of a third player in the game who was hunting the bijū for their own ends was the only logical explanation. She kept the façade up and continued to defend her village and point out the trickery and vileness of Konoha. Even if they were innocent at this point Kumo was their sworn enemy and regardless of how the war started they would need allies.

But if they couldn't win the Land of Iron over to their side she would recommend that the Raikage sue for peace. There was an enemy out there with seven bijū who was also Kumo's enemy. Their actions had precipitated the war and all the misery that it had caused.

And so she struggled to win the Land of Iron to her side but her words rang hollow and she could see that the Taishō was turning away from her version of the events.

Finally the talk was done and Mifune had heard all that he wanted to hear.

"Both of you have made convincing arguments and the truth probably lies somewhere in between. The samurai have maintained their neutrality for a reason. Shinobi affairs are fraught with trickery and one cannot know if a fight is against an honorable foe or mere shadows. I will watch the events carefully but will not interfere."

Mabui had failed. The Raikage would not be happy. She watched as Neji bowed low and thanked the Taishō for his time.

The old samurai inclined his head, "However while the armies of my land will not march there will be those convinced that Konoha presents a danger. I will allow everyone to decide with their own mind and heart what the truth is. If they wish to unsheathe their swords in a cause they feel is just I will not interfere."

Mabui felt a tendril of hope bloom in her heart. It was not a complete waste! They could still bring some samurai with them.

The Hyūga was bold and smiled, "In that case I will also share Konoha's perspective amongst your people. Jiraiya-sama wants peace; lasting peace that the Elemental Nations have never known. If your people desire the same they can help us make that world a reality."

The former assistant to the Raikage was disquieted by the statement. The Hyūga were respected in some quarters of Tetsu no Kuni. While she would do her best to convince them to join Kumo if Neji did the same for Konoha they would probably break even.

Their audience was over and Mabui had work to do as well as a message to send to the Raikage.

*****BREAK*****

Team Seven returned to Konoha and Naruto was anxious to hear how Neji, Tenten and Lee were doing. Word was that they were still recruiting samurai and that Kumo was doing the same but for the most part the samurai armies would remain within their own lands. He was thrilled to hear that the mission was a success and anxious for them to return to Konoha.

'It sure is nerve wracking to send shinobi out on missions!'

Naruto wouldn't have too much time to dwell on it as he and his team were going to be sent out again. This time they would be heading North West and link up with the Suna forces that had cut off access to the roads in **Tsuchi no Kuni** (Land of Earth). The larger towns would soon begin to starve and unless Iwa fully abandoned the people of Tsuchi no Kuni they would have to lash out and break the encirclements.

And when they did abandon their highly defensible position within their village Kakashi's team would be waiting to devastate them. It would be like the end of the **Daisanji Ninkai Taisen** (Third Shinobi World War) where Minato proved to be too dominant on the battlefield to be resisted. Team Seven would be used in the same way. And while Kumogakure rallied themselves in preparation to stop the invasion of their own land they would not think to launch a fresh assault. By the time anyone realized that Konoha's greatest fighting force was on the march the Iwa counter offensive would be shattered.

On paper it was simple but there were dozens of things that Shikaku Nara had done to convince Kumo that the attack on the border forts were a prelude to a full-fledged invasion. Word was spread around the village that the Hokage wanted vengeance on Kumo for the attack. Shinobi were drilling and preparing the logistics for an attack. Plans were made for an attack that would not come and Iwa would be crushed between the power of Suna, its allied villages and Team Seven.

Naruto had two days to make clones and say hello to all his now former students. His name was on everyone's lips; the son of the Yondaime, the defender of Konoha and the personal trainer for the 'second chance' shinobi.

Sakura was aggrieved that there would be so little time to refine her fuinjutsu ANBU suits. Fortunately the test suits had worked marvelously and she had a hundred Naruto clones working on the seals for the suits. They would place them in stasis and have two hundred suits ready for the actual ANBU units to use. The increase in survivability as well as the nasty surprises they held would go a long way in defending Konoha if an attack occurred while they were gone.

Sasuke spent some time with his wife in hopes of getting the process of building the clan along the way. Their union was chilly but they were both dutiful. She wanted a child that could give her the love that Sasuke would not and he wanted a child to continue his clan's legacy. He was also reviewing the prospects for his second wife.

Kakashi used the time to rest. He wasn't old by any means but he certainly didn't have the energy his three young pupils had! Plus Jiraiya was generous in sharing some of his notes for his upcoming work.

*****BREAK*****

The standstill in Iwagakure could not continue. A new Tsuchikage had to be selected. Juro Suzumori was the most dangerous shinobi Iwa had left to call upon. Calls for him to become the next leader of the village had been growing while Tsuchi no Kuni was ravaged by war.

The idea of becoming the next Kage after multiple failures was not something Juro's pride would allow him to swallow. Instead he fully endorsed the Ōnoki's granddaughter's ascension. While she was not the strongest in the village she would grow into her power. Her kekkei genkai was flexible and as she gained experience she would prove to be a formidable threat to any shinobi.

The Yondaime Tsuchikage was finally announced as Kurotsuchi. She took up the hat knowing that her place was in the village and not on the fields of war. It was a great disappointment that she would be giving a speech to the gathered shinobi who would be coming to grips with the enemy as opposed to fighting alongside them.

"Shinobi of Iwagakure! My grandfather believed in this village. Believed that we were destined for greatness! He was not wrong. He died on a foreign battlefield just like my father. Konoha and their two faced ways must be eradicated. I swear to you we will not rest until every last vestige of that abominable village is ground to dust! This is the first step in reclaiming our honor, in reclaiming our glory. Go and kill in the name of your village!"

Juro cheered alongside the rest of the men. It wasn't the best speech but it was full of passion. And for the utterly demoralized shinobi of the village it was what was needed. A renewed fire had filled their disenchanted eyes and they were ready to go and die for their village.

Sunagakure had split its forces to hem in the various towns of their country. Divided they would not be able to withstand their offensive. Even with the reinforcements they received from all of the minor villages they couldn't withstand it. They would either have to retreat before the oncoming mass which would lead to the towns being liberated and food and supplies being able to pass or they would be destroyed.

The head of clan Suzumori knew that success wasn't guaranteed. Suna was adept at their hit and run tactics and could bleed their forces. That was why he was leading the shinobi force. His ability to sense the vibrations of the earth would not allow Suna units to hide and wait for the army to pass.

In truth he was not overly worried about the clash with Suna. While he dreaded additional casualties to the faltering Iwa shinobi body he did not fear failure. What he feared was what would happen after. Konoha was the true threat. How could they be successful against the Leaf when they boasted the likes of Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke and Shikaku? They had eliminated the most powerful defenders of Iwa. Han, Roshi, Ōnoki and Kitsuchi.

Akatsuchi would remain to guard the Tsuchikage, that left only himself and a handful of A ranked jōnin to deal with the inevitable battle with the Konoha. He could only give his best and hope that some of those dreaded monsters would fall in their battles with Kumogakure.

Juro signaled and three thousand shinobi moved out. An appalling number were genin, some hastily rushed out of the Academy. He despised pushing them into the forefront of the war. They were leveraging the future to survive the present. They moved out and Juro wondered how many would make it back alive.

*****BREAK*****

Hidaka Yotsuki wasn't used to failure. Not only had that fool Atsui survived the attempt to kill him but the greater mission to ally the Land of Iron to their cause was ruined. They had gained a paltry 500 samurai where they had hoped to have ten times that number. Worse was that Konoha was walking away with nearly the same amount!

His uncle would not be pleased. And it was never a good idea to fail the head of the Yotsuki clan.

Shivering despite the heat he continued the journey and began making ready his excuses. Hopefully he would be able to blame that chit Mabui. The fool had actually been swayed by the enemy's words and had told him that she was going to suggest seeking an honorable peace. Yes, like Konoha would accept the near destruction of their village without due retaliation.

The young shinobi glanced at Atsui and learned a lesson. Never underestimate someone even if they have a grievous injury. He had been so certain that they could kill the one armed loudmouth with little effort. Never again.

**AN: **Sorry again for the long wait before the update! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that now that I'm done with the Land of Iron I'll get my mojo back. As always I LOVE your reviews. Oh and just a reminder, just because a character thinks something (like Baki) doesn't mean that it is correct.


	59. Chapter 58: Death Knell

**AN: **Special thanks to GJMEGA for his awesome Beta work!

**Chapter 58: **Death Knell

Kakashi led his team into **Tsuchi no Kuni** (Land of Earth). The allied shinobi had done an excellent job of securing the countryside and they were unchallenged as they crossed the border.

"Iwagakure doesn't have much left to fight us with. Do you think this will be at all challenging?" Sasuke asked his teammates.

"Remember what kills shinobi Sasuke," Kakashi replied.

One of the first lessons Kakashi had drilled into his team was that overconfidence led to shinobi being killed. It was a lesson that Sasuke had struggled with but one that he did adhere to. When it came time to fight he never let his guard down. Though he did still toy with opponents at times, much to Kakashi's annoyance.

Naruto grinned, "Don't worry Kakashi-sensei we'll make sure Sasuke doesn't bite off more than he can chew."

The Uchiha grinned at his comrade and brother in arms. There was no malice behind the words. They were united against a common enemy. That didn't stop him from wishing he could test his abilities at full power against him. Unfortunately with the forces they could wield it was simply too dangerous.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Boys…"

Kakashi couldn't help but bark out a laugh. He had gotten quite lucky with his team. He couldn't help but wonder what another sensei would have done with the three.

The four kept their pace comfortable which meant that to others they looked like they were dashing at top speed. At one point they were stopped by a Suna patrol. The Sand ninja were nervous at stopping what was clearly a squad of jōnin level shinobi. Yes they bore the symbol of the Leaf but that didn't mean they were actually Leaf shinobi.

With their masks on it wasn't obvious who they were either. Kakashi preferred it that way until they met with their Suna contact. It was certainly possible that there were Iwa or Akatsuki spies in the area.

Kakashi stepped forward while his three students stopped a small bit away.

"We are on a mission; here is the scroll as well as our verbal code."

The shinobi looked it over twice to be sure and then breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good luck ANBU-san."

Kakashi nodded and his team headed toward their destination. They would be meeting with Kankurō. Assuming their intelligence was good Iwa would soon need to launch their reprisal or let their towns fall. The Earth Daimyo was in hiding and if they didn't act soon the Land of Earth would be lost. It wouldn't mean the fall of Iwagakure but it would signal the end of the village as an international power. Without the resources of a great nation to draw upon they could not stay supplied or have a stream of potential shinobi.

Sakura was the one most looking forward to seeing Kankurō again. One couldn't be a puppet master without a solid fuinjutsu base. Hopefully he wouldn't mind showing off his work. While shinobi guarded their secrets many young and powerful shinobi could be quite arrogant in bragging about their skills. While Kankurō was actually older than her, intelligence on him was that he fit the bill. Besides they were allies so he shouldn't be too on guard, she hoped.

*****BREAK*****

Neji's team was returning to Hi no Kuni proud of their success. No blows had been exchanged, not even an attempted strike on them by Kumo. It was a reason to be happy. The samurai for the most part would stay out of the war. The potential of 10,000 samurai aiding Iwa and Kumo was a specter that could have changed the war.

Instead there would be less than a 1,000 involved and almost half of them had been convinced that Jiraiya was being true to his word about seeking a lasting peace. This had been somewhat of a surprise to the three and they had waited for orders on just where to take the samurai.

Tenten had wanted them to come to the village as she was already getting along quite well with several of the better blade masters. Their friendly spars were quite educational for the weapons mistress. The kunoichi was better than most of them by a strong degree even in a direct fight. Two of them had actually won their spars though and Tenten was thrilled with the challenge they presented.

Neji wasn't quite so sure. What exactly would they do in Konoha? It seemed unlikely that the village would be attacked after so convincingly driving back the massive invasion force. His thoughts proved accurate as they received a message from the Hokage to bring them to the capital of Hi no Kuni. The samurai would serve and liaison with the Fire Daimyo who had sent repeated request for more shinobi in case of another attack.

The samurai captain was a middle aged level headed warrior by the name of Yasuyuki. He was one of the few who had bested Tenten.

"It will be an honor to meet your Fire Daimyo. We have come to assist in ending the war, if this is where we can be of best use we will be glad to fight under his banner. However we will not obey any dishonorable directives."

"Of course," Neji replied, "I am certain the Daimyo will rest easier knowing you are protecting him and his family."

*****BREAK*****

Kankurō was pleased with the war. He got to test out a new puppet and his name was becoming well known throughout the Suna shinobi force. His name was well known before this but only as the old Kazekage's son or the brother to a monster. Now his name was used with respect due to his own abilities. Unlike many puppeteers he was also an adrenaline junkie. He loved the thrill of battle. He was more thankful than ever that the Kazekage had decided to honor their alliance with Konoha.

He glanced up as one of his men brought to him the ANBU commander from Konoha.

"You're it? Four shinobi? I thought we were going to be facing a strong counterattack from Iwa any day now."

Kankurō had over 150 shinobi spread out around the largest settlement near Iwagakure itself. Despite his superior skill they were going to need a lot more shinobi.

The man behind the ANBU mask smiled, "Kankurō-san let's go to your tent and I'll reveal to you who we are."

The puppeteer shrugged and invited them into his tent. His puppets were ready to strike if they proved false. It wasn't likely; the two villages had placed a premium on secure communications and these shinobi were expected.

Kankurō saw the vanquisher of **Sabaku no Gaara** (Gaara of the Desert) unmask himself. He quickly altered the thought, he had taken off his nondescript ANBU mask but he had left on the mask underneath. Nonetheless it was obvious that he was talking to Kakashi. The other three took of their masks and Kankurō looked on with surprise. Konoha had sent their best.

It had been awhile since he had laid eyes on Kakashi's team. They had defeated their fair share of Suna shinobi during the invasion. Reports had stated they had defeated chūnin as well as jōnin while they were still genin. And then there was the genin exams in Kumogakure… since _that_ event their rise in strength and power had reshaped the world. Kankurō knew that Baki was grateful to Konoha for setting aside vengeance for the ill fated assault on the Leaf village. But he also wondered if the strength of these four shinobi was the overwhelming consideration in adhering to the alliance.

"Kakashi-sama, you may not know this but you are considered a hero in Sunagakure."

"Oh?"

"Hai, when you killed my brother you freed us from his reign of terror."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. If he had a different sensei, if he didn't have Iruka and Kakashi he may have ended up just like Gaara. But it would be impolitic to push that. The Suna jōnin had meant it as a compliment for their sensei.

"I took no pleasure in it. I am curious as to what happened to the Ichibi. It should have risen by now."

Kankurō knew that information was classified and simply shrugged.

"Baki-sama might know but he's been tight lipped about it. Village secret and all."

They began talking about the plan for the likely battle.

Kakashi took charge, "My team has a number of highly lethal large area jutsu. Primarily I want your shinobi to be positioned behind us to the right and the left by a good 2,000 feet. Your job will be to ensure we aren't completely surrounded."

The Suna commander wasn't exactly thrilled at not playing a more pivotal role.

"You're good but so am I. Let me stand with you and you'll see what I can do."

Kakashi was about to dismiss the idea, not wanting an added part to his perfectly honed machine of death, but Sakura caught his lone visible eye.

"Kakashi-sensei knows all of our abilities and uses them in the best possible way. I believe that you are strong but you'll need to explain exactly what you can do and how you are going to do it in order to be in such close proximity."

He grinned, "Hah, well fair enough, let me show you this!"

Kankurō flexed his chakra strings and Surizarinku rose up from the ground.

Surizarinku was his most powerful puppet. It looked like some ungainly hybrid of mole and snake that was over 30 feet long from tip to head.

"This is the perfect defense against Iwa Doton jutsu. It is made out of the best material and has a number of surprises for any challenging foe."

Sakura got close and examined the seals and began asking innocuous questions pretending to be in awe of the creation. Kakashi was amused and not too upset. The battle would be a very fluid event and if they needed to separate from the puppeteer they could do so easily.

After she finished her inspection and her questions she abruptly thanked Kankurō and the four of them lifted their masks.

Now all that was left to do was wait and see if Iwa would strike. It was the likely choice for any counter attack. It didn't mean that is what Iwa would do but Shikaku Nara was rarely wrong and Kakashi agreed with the analysis.

Kankurō was glad to have such powerful help. He also wanted to see how his own abilities measured up to these up and coming legends.

*****BREAK*****

Kiba Inuzuka was leading his own team on patrol on the borders of Hi no Kuni. He and his partner's sharp senses made him a highly sought after commodity. He missed Hinata and Shino; they had been a superb team. He missed Hinata especially though that was for other reasons as well.

They were both the head of their respective clans. At a younger age he would have felt intimidated that both of his teammates were above him but he had matured. Now he was a jōnin and leading his own team.

The combination of Inuzuka, Aburame and Hyūga had proven itself and the thought was if something could be great once why couldn't it be great again? With him were an experienced genin Hyūga branch member and a chūnin Aburame. The team was rounded out by a clan-less medical nin who had graduated Tsunade's training courses. Tsunade was a big proponent of having a medical nin in every squad. After the destruction of the hospital that wasn't going to be possible for a long time, but this team would have a healer.

He sniffed the air and looked concerned. He signaled his team to stop. There was a foreign scent in the air. The Aburame kunoichi sent some of her bugs to investigate while the Hyūga used his dojutsu.

The genin whispered, "I count eight shinobi. Their headbands suggest they are from **Amegakure no Sato** (Village Hidden by Rain)."

Kiba looked stunned. Why would shinobi from Amegakure be in Hi no Kuni? Surely they couldn't be thinking to ally with Kumo and Iwa after almost every single other minor village sided with Konoha. It would be suicide!

"We will pursue but we won't ambush. I'm going to try to talk to them first."

Kiba and Akamaru formed up in front and broke through a clearing. Like much of Hi no Kuni the area was heavily forested.

"I think you guys are lost, the border is back that way!"

Kiba was expecting surprise, shock or fear. He had not been expecting an immediate attack. Two of the shinobi hurled kunai at him while the others scattered into the trees.

The thrown kunai weren't much of a threat and Kiba easily dodged them and roared out a challenge. He raced toward the shinobi who had thrown the kunai with feral speed. Not bothering to even use a jutsu he rushed them and pulverized the first with pure taijutsu. His opponents weren't weaklings but they were chūnin at best and he was a jōnin taijutsu specialist.

After dealing with the two of them he made a pair of mud clones to go protect the others in his squad while he began to hunt down his opponents in the trees.

They were just in time too as a swarm of senbon blasted the area. One of Ame nin had used **Jouro** **Senbon** (Senbon Shower). The clones hastily put up earthen walls that shielded Kiba's troops. They also weren't idle though as after the senbon attack the Hyūga began his own close quarters fight with a katana wielding foe.

The Aburame brought her insects to bear enveloping one of their opponents and draining him of his chakra. Kiba dealt with another two and avoided the blast of a deadly whip of water and finished the fight. Their opponents weren't bad but they were outclassed.

Six of them were dead and two of them were taken prisoner. Kiba wouldn't do the interrogation himself. Better leave that to the experts like Ibiki.

"We are heading back; keep an eye out until we get back to Konoha."

*****BREAK*****

It was never wise to bet against a Nara and the Konoha team was glad that they were in the right place.

The Suna scouts had picked up a massive force coming from Iwagakure and it was heading straight for them.

Naruto hadn't made his clones yet, that would be part of the surprise. Sakura activated some of her last minute adjustments she had made the night before. Kankurō had some clever ideas though they weren't earth shattering… so to speak. She did like the way his use of the puppet to burrow underground could protect him from Doton attacks. In the future she could use the same principal to do something similar but for now she contented herself with the knowledge most Doton attacks wouldn't be able to pierce her suit.

The mass of shinobi grew closer. They were not moving at running speed. If the Suna forces retreated it would allow supplies to cross between the village and the town which was their main objective. Still the Iwa shinobi looked eager. Suna was outnumbered by over 20 to 1. An easy victory would no doubt do much to assist Iwa's morale.

Juro Suzumori grew concerned as his army neared their opponents. The Suna shinobi were dug in and not looking like they were planning to flee. Why wouldn't they flee against a force his size? His instincts warned him that he should stop and investigate but the shinobi around him had their blood up. They _needed_ this victory.

But he didn't have to be foolish about it. He gave the signal for mud and earth clones to be created and scores of them raced ahead of his units. As they got closer and drew near they realized it wasn't just Suna they were facing but also Konoha ANBU. The clan head was too far away to notice anything in particular about his opponent's stance, their weaponry or any other tell tale clues that would identify them. They hadn't even moved which meant he couldn't sense them through the tremors in the ground.

But he knew.

'Oh no…'

He instantly barked out orders telling his squads to scatter as widespread as possible. As soon as his orders began being followed the Konoha shinobi leaped into action, perhaps realizing they were found out.

Suddenly the four shinobi turned into two hundred. A wave **Futon: Shinkugyoku** (Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets) powered bullets smashed through the earth clones like a hot knife through butter. At the same time the shinobi who had summoned those clones was completing his jutsu. Chakra saturated the air and it seemed to press in and around the Iwa shinobi.

Juro hastily began creating a great barrier of rock overhead and ordered his shinobi to begin constructing more beneath it. He only had seconds and he needed to push more chakra into it. Those seconds ran out as the tremendous tidal wave of condensed air screamed from the heavens.

It shattered the rock utterly but it some of the lethal power was reduced. It was slightly reduced again as it shattered the secondary barriers. Still fiercely dangerous the Namikaze's jutsu reached flesh and bone.

Despite its power and despite the casualties Suzumori knew his actions had saved hundreds of other shinobi. He stuffed a chakra pill in his mouth and shook loose the debris and raced forward alongside his brethren. The earth itself seemed alive as it raced toward the Kage Bunshin ahead of them. Dragons, spears, mud balls and all sorts of Doton jutsu careened forward. The battle was joined and Juro knew that even if they won the price would be high.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto bit back a frustrated curse. His **Futon: Sora Tonkachi** (Wind Release: Sky Hammer) had not been nearly as effective as he had hoped. Between the clones and his powerful but draining jutsu he had dropped out of Sage mode. He still had two clones nearby that were brimming with nature energy but using a third for such paltry results wasn't the best way to get started.

Kankurō stared at the Namikaze with shock, "What are you complaining about? That attack might have killed a hundred of them!"

But Naruto didn't respond. Kankurō though backed away as he sensed demonic chakra begin to radiate out from his ally. He couldn't help but feel the familiar fear that Gaara had held over him for so long. It was easy to forget with Naruto's personality that he was also a jinchūriki able to call upon a sealed bijū.

He was so intent on looking at Naruto that he missed the next wave of attacks by Konoha's combat team. Sakura had launched one of her kunai within a kunai. It whipped out with tremendous force from the gloved part of her suit and she manually triggered the seal once it sailed past the Naruto clones.

The storage seal triggered and a blast of pressurized air sent forty more kunai careening out in a forward arc. A moment later those forty kunai each unsealed their payloads. 1600 kunai delivered death. But they weren't just kunai; all of them had something that made them deadly.

Some had explosive tags trailing behind them. Others had explosive seals written on them that detonated and sent shrapnel everywhere. Some were laced with poison. Others blew apart and released poisonous gas or acidic spray.

Many Iwa shinobi died, however they were perhaps the most resilient to such attacks. **Doton: Doryuheki** (Earth Release: Mud Wall) littered the battlefield and had saved countless lives. Still the damage was done and the forward momentum was stopped.

The Kage Bunshin previously summoned now drew their katanas and charged forward. Their speed and skill made them greater than all but the best jōnin weapon specialists. Their only weakness was that just a scratch would dissipate them but most of their opponents died before that scratch could be delivered.

Naruto had finished his jutsu and summoned the mighty Gamaken. The toad bore his Sasumata and shield and was ready for a fight. Kankurō turned and saw the battle field had changed again and belatedly realized that Konoha really was doing all the work.

He saw Naruto use a shunshin and summon another toad. He repeated it with a third like it was nothing. It probably wasn't nothing considering the demonic energy seemed to be faint now but it was mightily impressive to summon three giant battle toads to the battlefield.

Sasuke and Kakashi were ready for the inevitable underground assault and as soon as the burrowing Iwa nin popped up they were decimated. Kankurō could barley follow their quick and lethal movements. Surizarinku only managed to kill one shinobi! This was embarrassing.

On the other hand it was also quite gratifying to be on this side of the battlefield. The Iwa forces were being decimated but the scouts hadn't fully realized just how many shinobi were coming. Now more spread out the force seemed absurdly large. The flanks of the battlefield saw more clashes as Suna nin began fighting with the numerically superior Iwa nin.

Iwa was not without its summons either. Great bears and goats rose up, none were anywhere near the size of the toads but they were dangerous to a shinobi. And in all that chaos his allies began advancing into the teeth of the fighting.

Kankurō brought Surizarinku with him, going through the ground providing protection against the random spikes of earth. Other threats had to be physically dodged though his allies did a great job of swatting them down before they arrived.

He saw several Iwa shinobi working in concert and no less than ten **Doton: Dosekiryu** (Earth Style: Earth Dragon) snaked around the mighty toads and raced directly at their position. The Uchiha stepped up and a shimmering blue armor surrounded him and the stone dragons crashed into it without any effect, crumbling, their power and momentum stopped utterly.

Other Iwa shinobi began battling each other. Did Konoha plant sleeper agents? No that wasn't it; it was the pink haired kunoichi beside him. She was using genjutsu with speed and effect that beggared belief. He snapped out of his awestruck daze when a shinobi tried to impale him with a kunai. That poor fool was snapped in half by his puppet and he vowed to stop gawking and pay attention.

*****BREAK*****

Juro fought off the Kage Bunshin with his mastery of Doton. Rocks shattered in mid air sending tiny fragments toward any of the clones that drew near him. It was the only thing that kept him alive as the clones seemed to focus their efforts on attacking strong shinobi. The weak ones no doubt weren't worth bothering with.

All sense of strategy was lost at this point. Mayhem reigned and in the chaos his people died. A comparison couldn't be made to the last time he had fought this hated team. Back then the clones weren't able to surpass even jōnin in single combat. Back then they didn't have a hundred plus allies keeping their flanks secure. And back then Iwa had its own monstrous summons like Maru and Atratus. To say nothing of Han. And kunai scrolls were never this lethal. Konoha had advanced while Iwa had weakened.

He had more shinobi than he had at that battle but previously it had all been experienced or highly skilled shinobi. Now half his force was made up of virtual children who should still be doing C ranked missions, not thrown into the rage of war.

Retreat at this point would leave hundreds dead with nothing achieved. Juro pressed on knowing full well that success was unlikely. But Iwagakure would fall if the Namikaze wasn't dealt with once and for all. He stuffed the remaining chakra pills he had on him in his mouth and raced forward toward the real Naruto.

*****BREAK*****

Sasuke saw the fight through his Sharingan clearly. Naruto was an army killer. Even Susanoo paled before the strength of clones, his perfected wind jutsu and three massive summons. Sasuke could have brought some snakes on the field but he preferred to keep his chakra ready for other abilities. Thanks to his Sharingan and having Kakashi as his sensei he knew more jutsu than he could realistically use in a single day.

But what called to him was his ocular powers. His dojutsu immediately picked out the enemy commander. He had fought him before. Juro Suzumori, one of the best Iwa had to offer.

'Let's see how he handles a fully matured Sharingan!'

Sasuke moved to intercept him. When he was at 30 feet he used Amaterasu. Experienced shinobi sometimes had something likening to a sixth sense. Maybe this Juro fellow had more than just his tremor sense when it came to his sensory powers. In either case the black flames were stopped by a thin sheet of earth that had risen from the ground.

'No matter.'

Sasuke next used Chidori senbon and filled the air with electrified death. Juro contorted and dodged and countered with his own spikes of earth underneath Sasuke's feet. Sasuke easily danced forward and dodged the earth lances from the ground while bringing himself closer to the clan head.

Juro attempted to encase him in stone but a taste of Susanoo broke the attack and shattered the rock that had tried to envelope him. Sasuke counter attacked with a sweep of his chakra construct's blade that forced his opponent to use the substation technique. Against an Uchiha the technique wasn't nearly as useful as they would instantly know where a user went.

Sasuke was no exception; he dropped the Susanoo and lashed out with a Chidori Spear. Despite just coming out of the Kawarimi Juro managed to dodge most of the lance of Raiton energy though he lost an inch of flesh from his arm.

Kakashi blazed forward. Sasuke was somewhat irritated that he wouldn't be able to finish the duel but knew that Kakashi would never see it that way. Combat was a place for victory not other considerations. With a shrug he followed his sensei, calmly dispatching a few Iwa shinobi who also tried to leap into the fight.

*****BREAK*****

Juro knew his days were numbered. The Konoha shinobi were too strong. Maybe if they still had a jinchūriki or… but there was no time for recriminations at this point. His last duty was to try to take one of these monstrous shinobi down before they took him out.

Unfortunately for Suzumori being attacked by Sasuke and Kakashi at the same time meant he had no chance of escape. His attempt to go to ground failed when a massive purplish blade slammed through his body just as he let the rock envelope him. Death came nearly instantaneously.

*****BREAK*****

Despite the death of Juro and the many advantages that the Konoha/Suna alliance had on the battlefield the Iwa shinobi did have numbers. It was not a quick battle as even Team Seven grew tired and close to chakra exhaustion from the slaughter.

And it was a slaughter. Rivers of blood soaked the earth as the decimation continued. The final few hundred Iwa shinobi broke and fled just as the chakra pills started coming out for Konoha. Naruto had the most energy left despite re-summoning his Kage Bunshin. He was also the one most disgusted with the massacre. He had over 400 impressions of death and mutilation to process since his clone's memories were his own.

This kind of war sickened him. He knew why Jiraiya was so determined to have peace. Sending out a team had been nerve wracking and he had started doubting whether he was actually the best choice for Hokage. The pressure was immense.

But now… now he would take the mantle. And he would fight for peace as hard as he could. He would end this war and ensure no one dared make war again. Killing 11 year old genin who had fought bravely for their village made him nauseas.

But it was finally done. Iwa was broken and their army was fleeing back to the dubious safety of their village. Jiraiya was cautious and it was unlikely they would be sent to finish of the village. The Akatsuki would know Naruto was here and so the likely course of action was a swift return to Konoha. Even if Kumo realized the strongest Konoha team had left the village there was no way they would be able to steal a march before they returned.

Naruto could see the map in his mind's eye. Suna forces would continue to strangle the life out of the Land of Earth and either Iwa would have to surrender or completely abandon the various towns and cities that supported their hidden village. Either prospect meant the inevitable decline of Iwa as a major power. In a generation they would be like Kusagakure. A notable village but one regulated to being in the shadows of their betters.

*****BREAK*****

Kankurō shivered, glad to see the Konoha shinobi leave. The power they had at their disposal was terrifying. He knew that they were not invincible. He had seen them finally slow down and grow weary. They were still human.

'For now…'

But the price to wear down four shinobi? Almost two thousand shinobi, and while they had been weary they had still been incredibly dangerous. Kankurō was prideful but he knew that Konoha could crush his village with just those four. His tactical eye knew that the only way to win such a fight was to wear them down, never group up and never let them rest. But even then what could stop them if they wished to retreat? They could break out of any encirclement.

He would have a long talk with his sister when he returned to Sunagakure proper. She needed to see that Suna needed the alliance with Konoha. If Konoha ever became their enemy they would be annihilated.

**AN: **Yes Team Seven is blatantly overpowered at this point. In my defense I'd like to point out that this is quite similar to canon. Do you recall how Naruto with bijū mode helps every single battle field at the same time? Or how Sasuke brazenly ambushes 5 Kage and their elite guards and still somehow ends up costing one of the more powerful Kage his arm.


	60. Chapter 59: Prelude to Rain

**AN: **Special thanks to GJMEGA for his beta support! I'd also recommend everyone check out "Blindness" by AngelaStarCat. It is a very different take on Harry Potter that had me hooked from the first chapter.

**Chapter 59: **Prelude to Rain

Jiraiya was in a good mood. True, the first night of having Tsunade in his arms didn't go quite as expected but he had been there for her.

The night had started well with a nice dinner and when Tsunade had accepted his invitation for some nocturnal amusement he was beside himself with joy. It was finally happening. What he didn't see coming was her completely breaking down and crying after the first sip of sake he had offered her.

The first Hokage's granddaughter was strong. Life had given her some terrible blows but she had persevered. But she hadn't fully confided the extent of her grief over the loss of her apprentice and the final link to her first love. And so Tsunade had bared her soul and clung to him and the gallant Jiraiya had stayed with her all night and had not one lecherous thought.

When dawn came Tsunade had untangled herself from Jiraiya and thanked him. She had given him a kiss and apologized. The Hokage could still taste that kiss on his lips as he began his daily work as the leader of a village at war.

'At least it is a war we are winning.'

Team Seven would soon be back from their mission. It had been an unqualified success; over two thousand enemy shinobi dead and that included Juro Suzumori. Iwa as a wartime power had been crushed.

'And just as we defeat one enemy another one begins making moves.'

Jiraiya was deeply troubled by the Ame shinobi crossing the border. The two survivors had been interrogated and between Ibiki and Inoichi they were able to retain no secrets. The problem was that their mission was incredibly vague. They had been tasked with entering one of the towns near Konoha and waiting for further instructions. That was it.

There was no purpose in Rain entering a war that the Kumo/Iwa alliance was losing. As a minor village they couldn't hope to swing the tide. If the Akatsuki were behind them then that would make them a threat, but why would they reveal their hand so openly to the nations? Coupled with no response to the message Jiraiya sent, it was almost as if they were baiting Konoha.

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Team Seven. They went through a debriefing and Sasuke and Sakura were dismissed. Shikaku joined them and the four began discussing the latest news.

Shikaku started, "Kumo hasn't done much though dozens of their shinobi have crossed over their borders. It is likely they are spies but they could also be saboteurs and assassins. We have killed a few squads who made their way into Hi no Kuni but I'm sure we've missed more than a few."

There wasn't much they could do about that. They had already increased the number of internal patrols.

Naruto looked at the three older shinobi, "So what's next? Are we hitting Kumo again?"

Shikaku shook his head, "We could but I'm troubled about two things." He handed a report to Naruto and Kakashi that outlined Kiba's run in with the Ame shinobi. "And here is the report about what the Kazekage thinks is Iwa's **Bakuha** **Butai** (Explosion Corps)."

Kakashi looked up, "But you think differently."

"We know of one member of the Akatsuki who could make these attacks with ease. Deidara, missing nin from Iwagakure."

Jiraiya sat back on his chair, "But why?"

Kakashi knew instantly, "They want to draw us out. Specifically they want Naruto. Our work as a rapid response team means they believe we will eventually come out and deal with their bomber. That is when they will strike."

Naruto looked at the map of the Elemental Nations, "But we've also been on the frontlines fighting Iwa and Kumo. They may think we'll head back to Kumo or to finish off Iwa."

Shikaku made a humming sound in the back of his throat as he considered the possibilities.

"This also means they believe they have the shinobi needed to take on your team. The Akatsuki have always seemed to know when and where to strike," the older Nara explained.

"They could be underestimating us," Naruto countered.

Kakashi considered the ramifications. If they went to hunt Deidara they could be walking into a trap. If they faced off with Kumo or finished off Iwa they could have Akatsuki waiting for them. It seemed unlikely to him that they would have the power available to take on his team in three locations.

'Either they don't have ambushes waiting for us in Iwa and Kumo or they have access to some sort of teleportation jutsu like the **Hiraishin no Jutsu** (Flying Thunder God Technique).'

"Instead of running around awaiting their ambush let's end this threat on our terms," Kakashi declared.

"You want us to attack Ame?" Jiraiya questioned.

"Hai, we strike at Ame with a large force. My team will go with me along with a number of other highly skilled shinobi. They will either have to abandon Ame or they will fight to hold it. While they have the defensive ground there will be no more sneak attacks and interference with our battles like outside of Takigakure."

Naruto backed his sensei and Jiraiya was eager to discover the fate of his wayward students. Shikaku was the lone voice of dissent.

"It still seems risky to me. We need more information before we attack. Let some of our spies infiltrate the village before we take action. If we time things correctly we could even strike while the Akatsuki prepares their ambushes elsewhere."

Jiraiya looked set on the course, however Kakashi knew if he supported Shikaku the Hokage would listen. The Godaime was not unintelligent and was wise enough to listen to advice amongst the mental geniuses he had selected as his council.

He honestly didn't think the spies would be successful and it would probably throw lives away. But on the other hand keeping Team Seven in the village would allow for some more things to play out. Iwa might even surrender as the noose tightened around their village. It would also give Sakura time to improve the fuinjutsu suits she was creating. And if the absolute worst occurred where Team Seven fell it would be important to have taught others some of her more carefully secreted formulas.

"Hokage-sama I believe we can spare some time. Our enemies are still reeling. If Shikaku can give us some intelligence on what we are facing then let's let his agents try. Even if they fail it could reveal something about our opponents. In the interim my team can stay within the village."

Jiraiya stood up and paced a bit. "Very well, Shikaku I'll give you ten weeks to get us something. If not we will begin preparations to march with our allies and surround Amegakure."

That being decided Jiraiya dismissed them. Naruto would no doubt want to spend some time with Sakura before she got too wrapped up in her fuinjutsu ideas. Shikaku would begin briefing the shinobi he had drafted into his intelligence corps and look for ways into the enemy village. Kakashi would ensure he was in tip top shape for the upcoming clash.

The Hokage was deeply concerned about what they would find in Amegakure. The remaining Akatsuki were monsters to say nothing of the potential of Nagato and Yahiko. Kisame more than deserved his S ranked status. His sword ate chakra making him nearly invulnerable to ninjutsu. His strength and kenjutsu made close range combat difficult. It would be too much to hope for that the 'tailless beast' was susceptible to genjutsu.

Deidara was similar to Naruto in the fact that he was an army killer. His massive explosions could wipe out an attack force unless careful preparations were made. Sasori was another S class foe who dealt with toxic poisons that nearly changed the course of the second shinobi war. What else had that monster cooked up in the intervening years?

Eventually he forced thoughts of the Akatsuki away. This war had been far more lethal and intense than in the opening days of the 2nd and 3rd shinobi world wars. Back then allies couldn't always be trusted so the great powers would take months just to plan and perfect a single assault. Outside of a few key events most of the war was skirmishing between small groups of shinobi broken up by the rare massive battlefield. Konoha's dominance made the 4th shinobi world war a far more deadly but hopefully quick affair. If everything could be wrapped up in less than a year since the invasion by Kumo, Jiraiya would be happy indeed.

Since it had been so bloody and deadly it meant that a person's tomorrows weren't certain. A shinobi had to take what joy they could in the present because the future was even less guaranteed then in times of 'peace.' With that thought firmly entrenched in his mind he left a pair of clones in the tower and went out to find Tsunade.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto had managed to convince Sakura to break off from her work to go out to dinner with him. Convince may have been the incorrect word. It was more along the lines of Naruto threatening not to allow Sakura to use his clones during her fuinjutsu experiments that caused her to finally give in.

Sakura admitted it was nice to have dinner with Naruto. He cleaned up nicely and they were enjoying a top tier meal in an extraordinary restaurant. Everything looked new because it _was_ new. The restaurant had been destroyed during the invasion by Kumogakure. No expense had been spared by the owners and it had just reopened a week ago.

The fact that Naruto was a Namikaze would give him a spot regardless of the lack of reservation, he was a hero and his reputation was only increasing. Sakura too got a lot of friendly looks. Her seals had protected a number of homes. The wait staff was kept busy keeping people away from the couple that evening.

"I'm starting to think we should go out to eat with a Henge Sakura-chan!"

Sakura smiled, it was a nice turnaround from three years ago where Naruto had started using a Henge because people despised him. Now he wanted to use it to avoid the constant interruption of people who wanted to thank him for saving the village and bringing glory to Konoha. Looking back she couldn't believe how stupid she had been back in the Academy. How could she have missed how amazing Naruto was?

"Admit it you enjoy the attention," Sakura teased.

Her date rubbed the back of his head, "Don't tell Sasuke but yeah I do. Being noticed and acknowledged was my lifelong dream. I don't _need_ everyone to look at me anymore but it _is_ nice every now and then."

They continued eating their meal glancing at each other several times. Sakura had enjoyed their kisses and intimate time together but they had not gone beyond that. Perhaps tonight was the night. Sasuke already got to have his carnal relations and was fast on the way to having another wife. Why shouldn't the rest of the team cross that next step in interpersonal relationships? She would take precautions to prevent any unexpected surprises.

'Until this war is over I'll need to be cautious. Team Seven shouldn't be apart.'

Yes Sakura thought to herself, she would make tonight special.

*****BREAK*****

Danzō had enjoyed pulling strings again within the Hyūga clan. It hadn't taken much for them to be prodded into abducting Hanabi. The only difficult part was to make sure the attempt occurred while she was training with her team, in particular Konohamaru. The boy was a strong shinobi for his age, however that wasn't what Danzō had been counting on.

He had severed on a number of missions with Hiruzen and well knew the power of Enma. The outcome was never in doubt. The elders had been gelded of their power and Hinata reigned supreme. It was a far better result than the danger of open conflict at a time Konoha needed to be unified.

'And once we have won this war. It won't take much for me to spark the next one. All I need to do is meet someone well placed in Kirigakure or Sunagakure and they will think the idea to capture and breed Hyūga clan members came from them.'

Kotoamatsukami was his greatest weapon. Unfortunately it could not be used too often, but a mere one or two individuals could lead to the ignition of another conflict. And Danzō knew it was in the Leaf's best interests to crush the other villages.

He wouldn't be foolish about it. Kumogakure and Iwagakure must be wiped out completely and Konoha given some time to rebuild. It wouldn't take long, a year or two at most. The unrivaled power of Kakashi's team was a bludgeon that would beat the world into submission. They had even defeated Itachi, someone who Danzō had been concerned about.

He had once regretted not being able to recruit Kakashi into ROOT. It had turned out for the best. His operatives were skilled, deadly and utterly loyal. They weren't innovative and they couldn't inspire. Kakashi outside of ROOT had done more for the village than he ever could have done under Danzō. He was not too proud to admit it to himself.

The Sandaime was hailed for teaching the Sannin but his reputation as a sensei had been marred with Orochimaru's defection. It was fast becoming clear that even the Sannin would pale to the eventual power of Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura.

'Future generations will give a new title to Kakashi no Sharingan. It will most certainly be **Tensai-Sensei **(Genius Teacher).'

His team would change the world and in the shadows Danzō would prop up enemy after enemy for them to eradicate until none would ever challenge Konohagakure no Sato again.

*****BREAK*****

Konohamaru was enjoying a meal at Iruka-sensei's home. Iruka had been his sensei in the Academy and had checked in on his progress often after he left the Academy and took the rank of jōnin. When Konohamaru had blamed himself for the deaths of Izumo and Kotetsu Iruka had been there for him. A sympathetic ear had been very helpful for him at that time.

The meal wasn't that fantastic to be honest but he was too polite to say anything. Iruka had not married Anko for her cooking! And dango as a main course and for dessert was a bit much. The one time Academy instructor though complimented his wife heartily.

"That was wonderful Anko-chan."

Anko rolled her eyes and Konohamaru had to bite back a snicker.

"According to the civilian women when we get pregnant we start to have cravings that we can't control."

"But weren't you obsessed with dango before you got pregnant?"

Anko spiked her killer intent slightly but the young chūnin simply grinned. He sparred with Enma and that old monkey had killer intent in spades. Besides he knew that Anko wouldn't hurt him. For all of her fearsome reputation she was completely loyal to the village and probably even more loyal to Iruka.

They continued the meal and the young Sarutobi asked when the baby would be along.

"Another five months according to the medical nin," Iruka answered.

Mitarashi let out a groan, "Five more months? Remind me to kill you later Iruka."

Iruka let out a laugh that was tinged with a bit of nervousness.

Konohamaru grinned, "You don't want to kill your baby's father Mitarashi-san."

"We'll see. I'm already feeling my coordination and conditioning going to crap."

Iruka hastily changed the subject, "So how is your team?"

The chūnin went over the new dynamic now that Hanabi had joined. It was a good team, one that had a strong mixture of ninjutsu and taijutsu. He was young for the responsibility but he had been groomed practically since birth for a leadership role.

Iruka and Anko gave some good natured advice and the three enjoyed each other's company. He made it a point to make sure to check on the happy couple. With all the death that had surrounded Konoha it really was a wonderful thing to see the process of new life emerging.

"I'll be by at least once a week. Maybe one day I could teach your child the way you taught me Iruka-sensei."

Iruka smiled, "That would be a fine thing. I look forward to it."

*****BREAK*****

"Are you sure he will come?" The man who called himself Pain asked.

Obito was amused at the question. Nagato liked to be in control but this was fully Obito's plan. He knew Kakashi would take the bait. The shinobi would always have the mind of an assassin. If you could cut off the head of an organization the body would die.

The attacks by Deidara and the sacrificial Ame shinobi were created for one purpose only. Draw Konoha's eye to Amegakure. Have them bring the jinchūriki right to their base of operation. It was too risky facing Kakashi's team in the field. Even if they brought the six paths of Pain, Kisame, Sasori, Konan and Deidara it may not be enough.

If it wasn't enough Nagato would have to use **Gedō – Rinne Tensei no Jutsu** (Outer Path: Rebirth Technique) and revive the real Madara Uchiha. It would be too risk away from Amegakure. Ensconced in the most protected part of Amegakure by **Gofū Kekkai** (Five –Seal Barrier) the real Nagato would not have anything untoward happen to him. There would be enough time to complete the jutsu and bring out the final weapon against Kakashi's team.

Obito would prefer not to use that weapon. He didn't trust the old Uchiha. True, he had saved Obito's life but he had trusted before and been burned. Far better for him to be in control when the final plans were made. He would recreate the world and bring true peace. To that end he would prepare Amegakure. Pain would wear down the invaders. Here the Akatsuki would make their stand and bring down the final jinchūriki. Afterward they merely had to wait until the Gobi reformed and their plan would be complete.

"I'm older than you and a good judge of character. I know how everyone with the Sharingan will act, Kakashi will come and he will bring his squad with him. He may have more support which is why the additional recruits were necessary." It amused Obito to lie, in no way was he older than the Rinnegan wielder.

"I will not lose. Even if my old sensei is with them it will not matter."

Obito hoped that was the case. Jiraiya was a dangerous foe but to his eyes he didn't merit even in the top three. Sasuke wielded even more advanced eyes than his own Sharingan. Naruto had mastered senjutsu and had the power of a tailed beast inside of him. But most of all Obito feared Kakashi. The one who had always bested him at everything. The one that had killed Rin. The one who only grew in power year after year.

'If I have my way I won't even see you during the battle. Let the paths of Pain or Kisame deal with you.'

*****BREAK*****

Sasuke didn't have much use for Ami. Nightly they joined together to create an offspring but beyond that their marriage had nothing that a normal person would view as love. Ami had been humiliated at her own wedding celebration and Sasuke simply didn't care about her.

However his treatment of her did lead to fewer offers of marriage. He had looked through the list and found it full of civilian daughters. Few kunoichi wanted to be the second wife of a man who had treated his first with such little respect. The fact that they would likely have to retire from the shinobi lifestyle in order to raise little Uchiha heirs and essentially become broodmares made those prospects even dimmer.

Sasuke made a Kage Bunshin and sent it to review the family records. He'd choose a civilian girl based on if they had any relatives that had once been shinobi.

One way or another, his clan would be strong. It would rise again to prominence. His family had helped found the village and he owed it to the memory of his parents and those who came before to rejuvenate it. Whether that took two wives or twenty he would do it.

*****BREAK*****

Tezuka Yotsuki, the Godaime Raikage, knew that his nation and village were in a perilous position. Iwagakure had lost the ability to project its power. Kumo was still strong in numbers but in quality Konoha would decimate them.

He had taken several steps to try to alleviate the situation. First he had tried to bring the samurai into the fold. It was not to be and somehow Konoha had even convinced Mabui that they had been innocent in their attacks!

His second project was coming along very nicely, however it had its own costs. Hundreds of shinobi had been sacrificed on the altar of a particular kinjutsu but at long last the Kinkaku Force was ready.

He observed Fuyu as she knelt and gave her report of their readiness.

"Excellent Fuyu. Your first assignment will be the assassination of the Fire Daimyo. Timing will be critical however. I want you and your team to do whatever it takes to infiltrate Hi no Kuni without being detected. Wait until Konoha readies a major strike and then bring down the leader of their nation. Set fire to the city and finish what was started."

Fuyu smiled. "Hai Raikage-sama. Once we are finished with the Daimyo what should we do?"

The steely eyed leader of Kumogakure raised his hand and slashed it sideways.

"I leave that to your discretion. We don't know how they will react and I will have no way of reaching you. If there are other targets of opportunity take them. If not make your way back to the village."

Fuyu had her orders and a new mission. If they couldn't fight Konoha in open combat they would rip out the underbelly of the nation. Banditry had already grown by leaps and bounds thanks to all of the displaced civilians the invasion had caused. Unless the Hokage wanted the economy, reputation and ability of Hi no Kuni to sustain itself as a national power to deteriorate he would have to intervene. That would mean shinobi patrolling their own country and not invading Kaminari no Kuni.

The plan like all plans wasn't fool proof. One attack against the Daimyo had already failed. Konoha may not even care about the rest of Hi no Kuni. That was the possibility that worried her most. Yes a nation supported its village with missions, metal, food, paper and other necessities. But if they had stockpiled enough they could end the war before feeling the pinch. After the war's end there would be no one left to stop them from plundering what they needed from their neighbors.

She didn't share her analysis with the Raikage. He had left it to her discretion and that meant Fuyu would do something purposeful in Hi no Kuni. She would kill the Daimyo and then go down the list of threats that were most dangerous to her village. And along the way she would be sure to take her own revenge as well.

*****BREAK*****

The Kazekage had welcomed Kankurō back home. He had completed his job in the field splendidly. With the aid of Konoha they had decimated Tsuchi no Kuni. After Iwa's last disastrous battle several major towns surrendered. The Earth Daimyo led his personal army to do what their hidden village couldn't.

Alas for the Daimyo he didn't have shinobi with him. The army died a pitiful death at the hands of poison in their supplies. Two thirds had died from one of the more slow acting poisons that Sasori had created before his defection.

With their morale crushed by the loss of life it had been easy for Kankurō to lead the puppet corps in a bloody victory over the soldiers. Now wealth and material was flowing into Sunagakure. It was a good thing too since the cost of everything had risen.

He had summoned his council to review the coded letter that had been delivered from Jiraiya. It was a call to aid in an attack on Amegakure.

The Akatsuki were based there and had evidently been collecting the bijū. While Kumo protected its own lands with their defensive posture and Iwa in no position to attack it would allow them to bring a strong force without leaving them vulnerable.

Temari counseled that Konohagakure didn't need any help defeating a minor power like Amegakure. However she was countered by two other voices.

Kankurō was eager to stay on Konoha's good side. He had spoken about the power of the Yellow Flash's heir.

"We don't want to get on their bad side. If they want us to assist then I say let's do it. What are the risks? If my sister is correct we will have taken part in an easy victory and strengthened our alliance."

Yūra also spoke up.

"I would be honored to lead the allied effort. Kankurō has proven his competence but has already played a major part. He had earned his rest. Allow me to represent Sunagakure."

Baki liked Yūra. His advice had always been solid and he was a forward thinker. He had been instrumental in the rebuilding of the shinobi force after the disaster of the Konoha invasion. The man was level headed and thought things through.

Kankurō didn't personally care about leading. In fact he found the entire thing a distraction from testing his new puppet.

"I don't mind if you take charge but I would like to also participate."

Baki had the information to make his decision.

"Yūra you will take a force of two hundred shinobi, all chūnin or higher with you. Make your selections and rendezvous with the Konoha forces when they are ready to march."

The Kazekage dismissed the council save for Kankurō and Temari.

"Temari what will you do when you become Kazekage? Will you destroy the alliance with Konoha?"

She ground her teeth in annoyance.

"I won't waste our people's lives like that. But I also won't fetch when they say fetch or sit when they say sit! This entire war was planned in Konoha. You've followed all of their commands like a puppet!"

"They were not commands. At every step Jiraiya-dono has confided in us. If his plans lead to success and power for Sunagakure it would be foolish not to abide by them."

Kankurō quickly added, "Temari let go of the past already. Konoha is the future of the Elemental Nations. We can rise up to the top with them or we can be crushed underneath them. They don't play around; they have raised monsters of incredible power. I was there. Get over it and think of your village!"

Baki could see the proud daughter of Sunagakure weigh those words. Finally she said, "The history of the shinobi wars tell us that alliances never last. What happens when Jiraiya is no longer the Hokage? Will their next leader be so accommodating? When I am Kazekage I won't start a war but I will assert our independence. I will not take the coward's path." Temari's eyes had been on Baki the entire time until she finished her statement staring directly at her brother.

"Don't call me a coward!"

"When I'm the Kazekage and I ask you to fight a Konoha shinobi would you do your duty or would you slink away or try to countermand my orders?"

"Fighting Konoha would be suicide," he shouted.

"You never answered my question!"

"I have always done what my village has asked of me! Do you think I wanted to be around our brother? But like a good soldier I went with him to Konoha. Don't you ever doubt my commitment to Sunagakure! If I put up with Gaara's insanity I can put up with yours."

Baki sighed, "Enough of this. The decision has been made. I understand your concerns Temari but we will continue to honor our alliance with Konohagakure. You are not Kazekage yet and if you don't start realizing the way the wind is marching it will go badly for the village."

Temari bowed her head. She wasn't a fool. In no way did she actually want war with Konoha. She wouldn't mind if Kakashi died but she wouldn't risk her people's annihilation. But it galled her. The wound was reopened every time someone mentioned Gaara. Every time someone mentioned Kakashi and talked about how he was a hero to Suna it caused a vicious flash of rage to well in her gut.

Logic was logic but she had loved her brother. He never stood a chance. He had been driven insane, lived a life of loneness and isolation and then had been brutally cut down. And every single other person in the world was fine with it. She carried her resentment of Konoha as a pledge to honor her brother's memory.

"I understand Baki-sensei." She turned to her brother, "Be careful. I've seen some of what the Akatsuki can do. They are dangerous."

Baki was glad that the meeting ended without the two storming off in opposite directions. While he was confident that Yūra would make wise selections for his force, it was his duty as the Kazekage to review those selections. He was no stranger to work though and prepared for more long hours in the month to come.

*****BREAK*****

Jiraiya was happier now then he had ever been. His relationship with Tsunade was everything he had dreamed it would be. And he had more inspiration then he knew what to do with for his novels!

'Good thing too. If she thought I was peeping while in a relationship with her my Hokage hat wouldn't save me.'

He forced himself back to the task at hand. Around the table were his two principal advisors and his apprentice. They needed to make the final decisions on whom all to send in to the attack on Amegakure.

"Asuma Sarutobi will be included, that isn't in question. The question is what team should he lead?"

Shikaku pondered the matter for a moment. "We could either have him lead the old Team Ten or we could have him work with Neji's team since they had more recent practice working together."

Teams had to be balanced appropriately. They couldn't just take every powerful shinobi they had. Konohagakure had to have strong shinobi able to defend it no matter the low likelihood of an attack. The choice on the table was to bring Shikamaru, Ino and Choji or they could bring Neji, Tenten and Rock Lee. The options weren't binary but likely they would want to keep teams together that had fought well together.

"Objectively, teaming him with Neji would give us a harder punch. And sending clan heirs into Amegakure may not be the best choice given all of the recent changes in clan leadership." Kakashi reasoned.

The Hokage agreed and it was decided that Asuma would bring Neji, Tenten and Lee into the fight.

"I'll let them know to begin training together right away," Jiraiya announced.

More shinobi were considered carefully. They wouldn't be sending an overwhelming army since the nature of their enemy would allow them to inflict horrendous casualties. A few hundred shinobi at most would be sent and that made determining who would be going all the more important.

'We'll want some good medical nin as well.'

Jiraiya brought that thought to the attention of his advisors. "I see why limiting the clan heirs and clan leaders is beneficial however we should also take Hana Inuzuka with us. Her abilities as a medical nin have grown considerably and she is fearsome in close quarters."

Shikaku and Kakashi shared a glance. It wasn't missed by Jiraiya.

"What?"

"We had someone else in mind to lead the iryō-nin." Kakashi replied.

Jiraiya shook his head, "No. Tsunade-hime is not coming. The village should always have one of the Sannin in it as a deterrent to attack."

Shikaku responded this time, "We all agree on that."

Naruto saw what they were hinting at. He was surprised his sensei hadn't been more direct but maybe Shikaku had wanted to handle it this way.

"Pervy sage… they want you to stay."

**AN:** I hope you enjoy the chapter – if so please review. We are heading into the final arcs of the story now. If you have any requested scenes between characters now is the time to suggest it as there will probably be more casualties coming up soon.

Also Nine Tailed Possession could use some love! If you haven't checked it out yet please read and review!


	61. Chapter 60: Life is Good

**AN: **I promise this is the last buildup chapter. Next chapter will have the fighting begin!

Special thanks to GJMEGA for his awesome beta work!

**Chapter 60: **Life is Good

"Explain yourself." Jiraiya demanded.

"The Hokage and the Hokage to be should not be on the same mission," Shikaku answered.

Jiraiya wasn't happy with the argument. It was actually a good one though. It would be foolish to break up the near perfect teamwork that Kakashi's team exemplified by replacing Naruto's place on the squad with himself.

"I know Yahiko and Nagato. I can reason with them if it becomes necessary."

Kakashi shook his head, "More likely you mean you'll let your guard down. They ignored your correspondence and have acted against Hi no Kuni. Clearly they don't care about their former relationship with you."

Naruto suppressed a wince at the comment.

Shikaku put it more diplomatically, "A lot can change in such a time frame. They aren't the same people you taught."

The Hokage could see how his advisors were working him; Kakashi drawing his ire while Shikaku planted the necessary argument. It was subtle and Jiraiya almost missed it. But he had been around quite a bit longer than the two of them. The problem was, regardless of how manipulatively they planned the discussion, they made sense.

It wasn't just about the Hokage and the Hokage's apprentice. Konoha only had two senjutsu users. It only had two signers of the toad contract. Unless things were truly dire Naruto should not be on the same battlefield as he was.

Jiraiya briefly considered not having Kakashi's team go at all but quickly dismissed it. Their strength was too critical when fighting the Akatsuki.

"Have I mentioned I hate you all?" Jiraiya groused.

Jiraiya could see all of them were glad he hadn't argued the point. They moved on and continued the discussion.

Shikaku brought up a good point that it was nearly always raining in Amegakure so it would be a good idea to bring along a Suiton specialist.

Naruto grinned, "Iruka-sensei would be great!"

Another shinobi was added to the list and then they began discussing the merits of some of the others. They decided against bringing either generation of Ino-Shika-Cho. Shikaku was too important to the running of his spy network and they didn't want to send more clan heirs. It was important to send a Yamanaka though for the swift sending of messages through their clan techniques.

They settled on Fū who was a former member of ROOT. They had not merged with the shinobi forces well and Danzō had taken them to defend the Daimyo but with Danzō back in Konoha they would use him.

Jiraiya had been given a list of all of the shinobi under ROOT and their abilities. One particular ability would be critical. Sai was a prodigy with specialized ninjutsu called **Chōjū Giga** (Super Beast Imitating Drawing). His ink drawings could come to life and he could draw large flying birds that would allow shinobi to ride on them.

After explaining his abilities Jiraiya said, "This will allow us to counter Deidara."

Kakashi hadn't been aware of all of the abilities the former ROOT shinobi had but would make it a point to review it with Jiraiya. That ability was a hidden gem that had wonderful tactical implications.

After completing the list of shinobi who would be going Jiraiya asked Naruto to pass along a message to Sakura.

"I'd like Sakura to help make customized fuinjutsu suits for anyone who wants them that is going on the mission."

Naruto gave him a dirty look, "One day my clones are going to go on strike."

The reality was while Sakura came up with most of the ideas it was Naruto's clones that did the heavy lifting. When he received the memories of hundreds of clones doing seal work it gave him a nasty headache. He had also been hoping to work on a new jutsu, but with this task ahead of him it was doubtful he would get to it. Even his Kage Bunshin had limits.

"Ah but that day isn't today gaki!"

*****BREAK*****

Tenten was glad to have been chosen for such a prestigious mission. Despite the fact they were all jōnin now they would still be operating on a squad together. Asuma would be taking command based on experience; although Tenten privately thought Neji could take him if they ever fought for some reason. But then again perhaps she was biased.

She let that thought go as she entered into the weapons store. Shinobi were issued a number of weapons when they made rank. If they wanted extra they would have to pay for it themselves unless they could get a special requisition for more. When she entered the store there were a number of find blades on display but beyond that the walls seemed rather sparse.

She waved in a friendly fashion to the store owner who smiled back at one of his favored customers.

"I'd like to put in an order for 200 shuriken, 200 kunai and a kamayari."

The store owner frowned, "Ah, my apologies but I am out of shuriken and kunai and I'm on back order for months."

Tenten was a bit startled by that. How could a weapon's shop run out of kunai? They were a shinobi staple! Was it poor planning? Had of the merchants who supplied him run afoul with bandits before making it to the security of Konoha?

"What happened?"

"Haruno-san purchased my entire stock."

Tenten groaned.

'Of course, her damned kunai scrolls.'

Yes they were a creative way of using fuinjutsu but it had been her idea first with her **Sōshōryū** (Twin Rising Dragons). It shamed her a bit to realize she was jealous of the younger kunoichi. Her name was on everyone's lips as the next Tsunade Senju, the next kunoichi to radically change the battlefield. In Tsunade's case her antidotes to poison made it far less likely for an entire generation of shinobi to delve into those arts. Her medical nin techniques were used all over the elemental nations. In Sakura's case her kunai scrolls now made even genin dangerous against seasoned shinobi.

"But I do have a kamayari in the back if you want it," the shop keeper stated hopefully.

Tenten grumbled a bit but paid for her new spear and left with far fewer weapons then she had hoped to have. Not all was lost though. Despite being a bit jealous of her they were on friendly terms. And hopefully she could get some of the weapons she was hogging!

*****BREAK*****

Sasuke Uchiha had announced his intention to marry again. After sifting through several civilian candidates he finally settled on a red haired woman named Seina. After delving into her history he learned that her grandparents were civilians who had emigrated to Hi no Kuni from the Land of Whirlpools.

Sasuke knew that Naruto's mother Kushina Uzumaki had originally been from there too. He could find no trace of a familial bond between Kushina and Seina but he liked to think that they were distantly related. Both because it made him closer to being part of Naruto's family and because it would mean any offspring he had with her could potentially inherit some of the traits that made Naruto such a fearsome shinobi.

The woman was different from Ami in other ways. She didn't have a reputation for being a gossip and she wasn't full of herself. While she had some fan girl tendencies she also had a warm smile and a gracious air about her.

'Yes, being married to her will be… nice.'

Ami hadn't been pleased about him getting a second wife so quickly. Sasuke had merely stated that he would continue to gather wives until his current ones began producing heirs. She had not been happy but had agreed to try again that very night.

'Kakashi-sensei taught me much. If you wish to get something out of someone you have but two choices. Threaten to take something from them or offer something they desire. She doesn't want a home full of women who can call themselves Mrs. Uchiha.'

The wedding would take place before they went to Amegakure. Sasuke wasn't much on formality however it would be expected that he have a public wedding and introduce the world to his next wife. He would try to keep the guest list small but he knew it would soon grow out of hand.

'As long as my team is there I don't care who else shows up.'

*****BREAK*****

Sakura and Naruto were hard at work making the fuinjutsu suits. Customization often took time as it was critical to make sure everything worked properly. And Sakura had a different fuinjutsu seal she wanted to master.

Nonetheless most of the requests were quite doable. And some of them were kind amusing to the couple.

One of the Sakura clones dissipated after reading Rock Lee's request. Sakura would never have the chakra that Naruto or Sasuke could call upon but she was still a jōnin and could also make use of Kage Bunshin.

"Naruto guess what Lee wants?"

Naruto winced, he could only imagine. And with Lee not being able to use chakra it would severely limit what he could add to his suit. Most of the seals were triggered by specific amounts of chakra flowing into them.

'I suppose we could design something that reacts to the Gates being activated,' he mused to himself.

"He wants his suit a different color! He wants it to be bright green."

Naruto laughed, "That's our Lee for you. But he's thinking too small here. He won't be able to activate a lot of the normal seals but what if we created receiver seals that were time released when certain fluctuations in a person's energy occurred? We could test it and it could give him a lot of new options when he uses **Hachimon** (Eight Gates)."

Sakura kissed her boyfriend, "You're a genius Naruto! I just wish I had more time before the battle. There is so much to do, especially my work on the **Hiraishin no Jutsu** (Flying Thunder God Technique)."

Naruto would love to be able to use his father's signature jutsu and had encouraged Sakura to work on it, but he could see it was frustrating.

Sakura continued, "I don't know how your dad did it! My equations show the chakra output needed to work the transportation would require chakra on a scale we've never seen. Short range teleportation isn't out of the question, it would be chakra intensive but it should work. But being able to warp to multiple places over huge stretches of land? I'm missing something about the base formula and it's driving me crazy."

Naruto rubbed her shoulder, "Come on Sakura-chan. It probably wasn't invented in just a few months. Why not explore the shorter ranged version. It won't be practical for everything but if there is one thing I do have, it's chakra!"

The pink haired kunoichi thought about it and nodded firmly. "You're right, and maybe I'll learn some things about the true Hiraishin as I work on this project. Thank you Naruto-kun."

Naruto's grin could light up a room when he was younger and it still had that same power. Sakura enjoyed being with someone who was so relentlessly optimistic. Nothing kept him down for long.

"Let's leave your clones to do some more work on the suits while we go for a nice long dinner, juts the two of us."

He was somewhat startled at her request. Normally he was the one who had to drag her away from her fuinjutsu work. This was a welcome change and Naruto wasn't going to let it go to waste!"

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi had always known that the Hachimon was powerful; however he hadn't spent the time needed to harness its power. He could unlock **Seimon** (Gate of Life) but that was his limit. Any further and he would do damage to his body. For a shinobi like Kakashi the idea of short term gain for long term hardship was a losing prospect.

In order to use the other gates one had to train their body at a frightening intensity. Gai had trained a minimum of 12 hours a day and had ignored the other aspects of shinobi training. Unlike Lee he could mold chakra but everything else wasn't important after he learned how to detect and break genjutsu.

'I can't actually say he was wrong either. The way he handled the Raikage is proof that the Hachimon can be considered one of the most powerful kinjutsu ever created.'

Now his team would be thrown into another confrontation with multiple S ranked threats. Kakashi was wary but not worried about Deidara and Sasori. He respected their abilities but they didn't match up well against the arsenal of ninjutsu he had at his disposal. Kisame however was another issue. Not all of his abilities were known but reports indicated he seemed to shrug off the most powerful ninjutsu. Kakashi's first plan would be to let Sakura or himself trap him in a genjutsu, but one didn't become an S ranked threat by not having an answer ready to all the major shinobi arts.

He wanted to have another trump card to play against the Kiri missing nin. And for that reason he would be devoting long hours to working with Lee learning how to best open the gates and conditioning his body to tolerate the influx of power.

Even if Kisame, Deidara and Sasori were dealt with they still had to deal with whoever was leading the Akatsuki. It was a very real possibility he would have to face a Rinnegan user. Not having any actionable intelligence about the Rinnegan made the upcoming fight dangerous. He would use every weapon he could to ensure that Konoha would be victorious.

Lee noticed him entering into the training area.

"Yosh! It is good to see you Kakashi! You were the rival of my sensei and now you will learn his most powerful abilities. Gai-sensei would have wept for joy at this youthful display!"

Kakashi felt the ghost of an eye twitch come on as he approached his training partner.

*****BREAK*****

The wedding between Sasuke and Seina was another great social occasion for the Konoha shinobi. As a general rule most shinobi didn't marry until later in their careers. Typically once they had settled into an administrative or village based role. The rarity of marriages was increased due to other factors such as short life expectancy, clan rivalries and the often incompatible views of shinobi and civilians.

The fact that it was the last Uchiha getting married for the _second_ time added an additional amount of drama to the whole affair. Despite all this Sasuke did his best to limit the guest list. The Hokage took pity on him and actually arranged for a festival to occur on the other side of the village to celebrate their recent victories in the field. Most of the civilians that didn't know Seina would be there while the shinobi who knew Sasuke and his team would be at the actual wedding.

The wedding went off without a hitch. Ami was even gracious, which surprised several people. Sasuke was briefly annoyed when Jiraiya gave a short speech. The speech itself was fine until the end when he began wondering what it would be like to have two women in bed at the same time. Sasuke would have blushed if he hadn't been in full mastery of his body thanks to Kakashi's training. All the same he allowed his eyes narrow in irritation.

Tsunade was cracking her knuckles ominously and Jiraiya quickly wrapped up his parting words. After that there was dancing and mingling.

Sasuke could see Jiraiya whisper something to Tsunade that evidently mollified her and the two began dancing to the traditional music that was playing. Naruto and Sakura also entered the dance floor as did Sasuke and Seina. The girl was graceful and her lightly freckled face appealed to him. She glided around the floor with Sasuke and it was not unpleasant for the Uchiha.

Hinata caused a stir when she began to dance with Kiba. If the elders still had power they would have howled, but with them being defanged they could do little to protest their dance. Asuma sat back and enjoyed a cigar, watching the happy couples dance with a relaxed if somber expression.

The dancing would last all night and the shinobi had the stamina to do it, however there were other things to do than just dance. Very soon many in the room would be going on an extremely dangerous invasion. It was a time to catch up, wish each other well and enjoy the company of those you may not see again.

Sasuke didn't have to fake the smile on his face. The food and drink were good, his company was pleasant and he was well on his way to rebuilding the Uchiha clan. Life was good.

*****BREAK*****

After a few lovely dances with Naruto, Sakura began making the rounds speaking to her friends. She gossiped with Ino just like old times. The two of them hadn't seen much of each other in the years prior and it was quite enjoyable.

Ino smiled at her slyly and teased, "Any plan to copy your teammate soon?"

Sakura like Sasuke was a master of the shinobi arts. She didn't let an embarrassed flush take her face despite Ino's less than polite prodding.

"We are enjoying things as they are. But between you and me I wouldn't mind at all if it one day came to that."

Ino pouted at not causing her friend to squirm. It had always been so easy to fluster her! Sakura knew exactly what Ino was thinking and had to grin at the blonde's plight.

"And what about you?"

Ino shrugged, "I've had my eye out on a few but they're going to have to make an effort if they want to woo me!"

Sakura's eyes travelled around the room, "I guess they might just be too _lazy_ to make much of an effort."

Now it was Ino's turn to get flustered.

"As if! Don't listen to silly rumors Sakura!"

'Ah, this is enjoyable. When the war is over I definitely need to do more of this.'

Their conversation was interrupted by Kiba and Hinata coming over to say hello.

Sakura politely asked, "How are things with your family Hinata?"

The confident young woman that stood before her was nothing like the girl who had gone to the Academy. She moved with the pristine grace of a Hyūga. Her radiant smile was the only aspect of her that could be considered 'flawed' and those that thought like that weren't worth anyone's time in Sakura's opinion.

"Everything is going quite well, thank you for asking."

Sakura turned to Kiba, "And what have you been up to?"

"I've got a mission to the south east of Hi no Kuni. I'll be there for a while keeping an eye on the border with the Land of Water. Jiraiya-sama doesn't think we have anything to worry about but why take chances?"

They made some more small talk. Sakura could tell by the way Kiba and Hinata eyed each other that as soon as Hinata felt secure enough in the political situation there would be another marriage to celebrate. It had been almost four years since they had graduated from the Academy together and they were all powers in their own right. But unlike shinobi of the past all of her friends had stayed grounded.

'This is what a village of shinobi is supposed to act like. We care about each other and support each other. We are the future of the Elemental Nations.'

Sakura was happy with her boyfriend. She was happy with her team and happy with her village. She loved her work with fuinjutsu and everything was going incredibly well. Life was good.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto wasn't much for dancing on general principal but he was very much for dancing with Sakura. He could have gone for hours but his girlfriend did want to socialize. He saw her go off with Ino and knew girl talk was imminent and that was his cue to go elsewhere!

He walked over to the table Iruka and Anko were dining at. The two of them were enjoying the food as Naruto took a seat.

Iruka smiled at his favorite student, one who had far surpassed him in shinobi talent!

"Did you enjoy dancing Naruto?"

Naruto grinned, "Believe it! Sakura is great at dancing."

Anko mocked, "At least one of you is good at it."

The Yondaime's son wasn't bothered by Anko's sometimes caustic remarks. That was just Anko being Anko. And while he didn't detect any flaws in the memorized dance moves he had used it probably had not been done with much flair. Jiraiya had given him enough ribbing about Team Seven being 'Kakashi-bots' to know that at times his movements were a bit too crisp and aligned to really be called a 'dance.'

They made small talk for a bit and then Anko pinned Naruto down with a stare.

"Naruto Namikaze I'm not able to go on the mission with my husband so you had better bring him home alive."

Iruka made to protest but Naruto raised his hand.

"Anko you know I can't guarantee anything. Kakashi says that making promises you can't be sure to keep causes more grief than it can cure." His blue eyes sparkled with the hardness of diamonds. "I will do my utmost to protect everyone I am with. I vow to save any shinobi from the village ahead of my own life if that is what it takes. Iruka is no exception to that."

Anko breathed out heavily. She looked embarrassed.

"Sorry Naruto, I had no right to badger you about this. I blame the pregnancy; my emotional control is shot to hell!"

Iruka put a comforting hand on Anko's shoulders.

Naruto decided to liven up the air a bit by grinning at Iruka, "So since Anko is handling it so well, when are you going to go for baby number two after she finishes with this one?"

Iruka laughed while Anko threw her fork at Naruto's head. He caught it effortlessly and gallantly handed it back, "Lady Mitarashi I believe you may have dropped this." He made his voice sound like one of the stuffy figures in Jiraiya's books.

Anko threatened to disembowel him but humor sparkled in her eyes. Naruto was happy for the couple. They were bringing in new life to the world and despite Anko's reputation he knew she loved Iruka-sensei. He wished them the very best.

Reflecting back on his own situation he couldn't be happier. His girlfriend was an amazing woman. She sometimes did get too obsessed with her fuinjutsu but no one was perfect. He loved teaching at the Academy and his team had never been more in sync with each other. Life was good.

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi could barely keep his body from trembling. The excruciating conditioning he was putting himself through was playing havoc with his body's fine-tuned operation. He would need to rest completely a few days prior to the mission.

He wasn't one to mingle often but many of his peers were here. Asuma was morose but hiding it well. Kakashi considered his choice an interesting one. When he had lost everything he had become depressed and retreated into his one hobby and had adopted his fallen comrade's mannerisms. When Asuma had lost Kurenai he didn't sink into depression. No he had leapt into rage. The man was ready to come to grips with the enemy; he was poised to deliver death at any moment.

Neither was healthy and Kakashi entertained himself debating which one did more damage. He scanned the room and approached his friend Shikaku. The two of them had worked well together. They hadn't always seen eye to eye so to speak but they had help guide the village over the last three years. The man's keen insight and intellect were always a pleasure to interact with.

Currently Shikaku was lost in conversation with the other two members of Ino-Shika-Cho. Kakashi raised his drink in salute and continued looking at the shinobi present. He saw Yugao dance with Hayate, one of the rare times he had seen her outside of her normal ANBU uniform. He wished them well and had a brief moment of wondering what might have been if he had approached her before Hayate had.

'The Hatake name will die with me. I have no bloodline to pass on, it isn't important. There are other clans to lead Konoha.'

He saw Sasuke approach with his new bride. The girl did look similar to Kushina.

"Let me formally introduce you to my sensei, the man who shaped me."

Seina bowed low, "Good to meet you Hatake-sama."

"Maa, Maa, none of that now. Kakashi is just fine."

Inwardly Kakashi was pleased by Sasuke's words. He had done well by them. The cold exterior that Sasuke had was beginning to melt. Oh he had still had control of his emotions, all of his students did, but now he was learning to show them and enjoy them when it was appropriate.

Kakashi saw all of the current movers and shakers of Konoha. Even with the gut wrenching losses Konohagakure had suffered he knew that the village was stronger than ever before. The new generation had boldly taken up the reigns and was transforming Konoha into the village that Minato-sensei had always dreamed it could be.

And his team was leading the charge into a promising future. His team respected him. They respected each other. His village was strong and he knew that both his sensei and his father would be proud of him. Some might think that wasn't enough to say one was happy but for Kakashi Hatake it was. Life was good.

*****BREAK*****

Jiraiya had rolled over, completely spent. It was the night before his Tsunade-hime was to leave with the Konoha force for Amegakure. He looked at the wondrous nude vista beside him. All of his childhood dreams were coming true. He had become the Hokage. He was lying naked beside the girl of his dreams. Peace was so close he could taste it. It was all over for Iwagakure except the curtain call. Kumogakure was still a threat but against the alliance of smaller villages, Sunagakure and his own village they wouldn't stand a chance.

All that was left was Amegakure. And it scared the hell out of him. Yahiko had taken to his training well but it was Nagato who had mastered all five elemental jutsu. He personally knew of only two people who had ever done that. One was his own sensei and the other was Kakashi no Sharingan. If Nagato was alive and if he was in charge of the Akatsuki it would be the most dangerous fight Tsunade had been in in a long while.

He longed to throw caution into the wind and change the plans at the last second. He could go himself and keep Tsunade safe.

"I can tell you enjoyed it earlier but the look on your face now makes me wonder," Tsunade told him.

Jiraiya sighed, "I'm sorry Tsunade-hime. I'm just worried. I have a bad feeling about this mission."

Tsunade gave him a light kiss, "**Jiraiya… Iryō ninja wa kesshite shōtai no naka de saigo made shinde wa naranai."** (Jiraiya… No medical ninja shall ever die until they are the last of their platoon.")

"Did you just quote the third clause of the medical nin code to me? The one that you wrote?"

Tsunade smiled, "It doesn't make it any less true. I will be cautious for your sake but I'm coming home from this one. Kakashi's students are monsters in their own right. They have eclipsed the Sannin. They will be fine. We will have Suna at our side as well. Don't underestimate Asuma Sarutobi either. Ever since Kurenai's death he's thrown himself into training. Trust us."

Jiraiya kissed the most beautiful woman in the world and did as she asked.

*****BREAK*****

Obito knew without a doubt that Kakashi would be in charge of the assault on Amegakure. It was like a shogi match but with lives as the pieces. Normally Pain would handle the day to day operations of the Akatsuki but for this he wanted to take a personal hand in it.

He looked over the resources that he had at his disposal. There were roughly 300 shinobi Amegakure could call up; however none of them were particularly useful. The battle to defeat Hanzō and the wars prior had destroyed much of the elite of the village. They had a few jōnin but nothing special.

Zetsu wasn't what he considered a front line fighter but his clones could operate at low jōnin strength and he could create a score of them.

And then there were the Akatsuki themselves. The 'originals' left were Kisame, Deidara, Sasori, Konan and Pain. Along with them the Katon user Mui, the Crystal Release user Guren, the kenjutsu specialist Dai Munashi and one of Orochimaru's experiments Kidomaru.

Pain doubted the abilities of the Konoha forces. Obito knew he was certain that they would not be able to defeat him. He needed to curb that hubris before it cost them everything. To that end he would have individual Paths of Pain join some of the teams so he could see from every angle just how powerful their opponents were. And if some of the Paths should fall, well they could just be revived by Naraka Path. The Animal Path could summon the defeated paths and then the Naraka Path could revive them. The important part was to keep those two Paths safe.

To that end he created a 'base' team. Sasori would be partnered with Konan, Guren and Kidomaru right outside of the **Gofū Kekkai** (Five –Seal Barrier). A pair of Zetsu clones would also be with them. Obito himself would be within the barrier with Nagato and the original Zetsu. No doubt Deidara would complain about being separated from his partner but his ability to bomb the invading Konoha forces would necessitate him being airborne and not in a fixed position.

The first team that would confront Kakashi would be lead by Kisame, the Asura Path and the Human Path. Joining them would be Mui and Dai Munashi. The combination of abilities didn't necessarily mesh well together but the different fighting styles would give Pain ample examples of how Kakashi's team operated against a variety of threats.

While that initial confrontation was taking place Deidara would be in the air along with the Deva Path and the Preta Path. They would fly on the clay constructs Deidara created and the flying creature the Animal Path would have previously summoned. From the air they would rain down destruction on the invading Konoha forces.

Konan had also placed a number of paper bombs all around Amegakure. Obito felt it was a good solid plan. Kakashi had always had his number in tactical and strategic games but this time, the time that it would count, he would be the victor.

*****BREAK*****

Anko had dreaded this day. She didn't know why but Iruka's mission filled her with fear. They had made love the night before despite her pregnancy and for some strange irrational reason Anko felt like it would be their last time.

'Must be this fucking pregnancy; Tsunade needs to get off her ass and make some new medical breakthrough to make this easier.'

Less than an hour before Iruka had to go Anko stopped him in his preparations.

"Iruka, when you get back from this mission I want to ask a favor of you."

"What is it?"

"Let's stop taking missions outside of the village unless it's absolutely critical. Let's make this the last time we're apart like this."

Iruka smiled. He was full of love for his wife and their unborn child. This was a side of Anko that he had only glimpsed at before. But if this was what she wanted then he would be glad to give it to her. Teaching at the Academy was still a passion of his. He could be content with this arrangement.

He embraced her, "One more mission. And then I'll be home."

"One more mission," she whispered back.

**AN:** I've started to consider what major story I want to work on next after this one. I do like Nine Tailed Possession but I'm not getting a lot of views/reviews. I'm debating about keeping it as a side project and bringing a new story to life.

The new story concept would be almost an old school take on Naruto before things started going crazy. If you watched the first 20-30 episodes how many shinobi do you think were in a village? 10,000 or 500? In regards to ninjutsu direct attacks – how often was it used? Not very often at all, in fact every ninja clash had a huge amount of taijutsu/kenjutsu instead. My story idea would to be to create an AU world with a different plot from the anime that resembles (at least somewhat) the old school Naruto world before 10,000 shinobi and jutsu that leveled mountains were introduced.

The question to my reader base is this – should I go with this idea or should I keep working with Nine Tailed Possession?

Also I want to remind everyone of an Author's Note from a while ago. I didn't really like the direction of the Manga towards the end. Kaguya has been completely written out of this world. I wanted to give folks a head's up so they don't start wondering why the plot is going very off from the canon source material in some of the later chapters.

Final question for the fans before I wrap up this Author's Note… The line Tsunade uses with Jiraiya was placed in Japanese from the wiki. Do you think it added to the scene, detracted from it, or doesn't matter? I had a discussion with my beta and he felt it was out of place and not consistent but I thought it was interesting. There are no wrong answers – just opinions!


	62. Chapter 61: Akatsuki Part I

**AN: **Wow the number of reviews I got for the last chapter was amazing! You guys rock.

Special thanks to GJMEGA for his awesome beta work!

**Chapter 61:** Akatsuki Part I

Kakashi led his army to the meeting point with the Suna forces. Sunagakure had held firm to the alliance and had come with a sizeable force. The commander this time was Yūra, a skilled jōnin. Kakashi knew he was an A ranked shinobi from the bingo books and a rock of stability for Suna after the revelation that their Kazekage was dead.

Kankurō was with him as well. His puppets had been helpful, though not necessary, when they had crushed Iwagakure's attempt to break the encirclement.

Naruto took off his ANBU mask and waved. "Kankurō-san good to see you again! Have you made any new puppets? Sakura-chan really liked your last one."

The puppet user shook his head. Kakashi could sense that he was intimidated by Naruto despite the genial face that he portrayed everywhere except for the battlefield.

He invited Yūra to his command tent where he had the map of the area.

"We'll travel together today and rest for the night. In the morning we will look to array ourselves at the southern entrance of Amegakure. We will not be surrounding the village. If possible we would like to allow the civilians and any non-Akatsuki to retreat if they wish."

Yūra frowned, "But won't that allow the Akatsuki to escape?"

Kakashi simply replied, "No. If they wanted to escape this battle they could do so easily. They want to capture Naruto. During the actual fight we will attempt to stop them from retreating and go for the killing blow whenever possible."

The Suna commander nodded. They discussed the best way to array their forces. It was decided that Kakashi's team would have Naruto's Kage Bunshin lead the way. The clones would ferret out any traps and gauge the initial level of resistance. From there Kakashi's team and Asuma's team would strike from the right and the left. The bulk of the Konoha force would enter behind them. Suna would join in behind them and a small but decent force would remain under the command of Tsunade Senju. She would be in charge of the medical teams. She would also have Sai and several clones on hand to provide aerial protection.

Yūra agreed to the plan and added, "I'll leave several of my best shinobi to protect Tsunade-sama while she heals our wounded. I'm sure she could handle herself but if she is fighting she won't be healing."

Kakashi agreed and the plans were set. Tomorrow battle would be joined in Amegakure.

*****BREAK*****

Fuyu and her team were in position. She had lost two shinobi crossing into Hi no Kuni. Eighteen jōnin level assassins armed with kinjutsu would be more than enough. Konohagakure had introduced a new way of fighting wars and Kumogakure had adapted. The idea of using fuinjutsu scrolls to store explosives and shrapnel had been brilliant. Fuyu had to hand it to the pink haired bitch; she had stumbled across something that would change the world.

Now it was Kumo's turn. They had placed hundreds of storage scrolls that packed nothing but explosive seals. Each explosion could level a building and they were now secreted all over the capital city of Hi no Kuni.

The only place they hadn't stored the fuinjutsu bombs was in the palace itself. She had deemed it too risky. If they caught one of her Kinkaku Force with them it would spark an investigation. That didn't mean the Fire Daimyo would escape. While his city burned Fuyu and her team would kill him and his family.

All she had to do was wait for the signal that indicated Konoha had launched the attack on Amegakure. While their best were in the field she would carve out the heart of Hi no Kuni. Once the Daimyo was dead the Raikage planned to prop up one of the man's distant relatives as the new Daimyo. Chaos would descend and Fuyu and her team would take on her next targets in Konohagakure itself.

'And then… we'll have a reckoning Anko Mitarashi!'

*****BREAK*****

Kankurō stared at Yūra in shock.

'No! This can't be happening. How did Temari convince Baki? This is insane!'

"This has to be a mistake!"

Yūra firmly shook his head, "No it is not. Baki-sama was convinced by your sister's arguments. I'm sorry but we have no choice. In the end it will be for the good of the village. Konoha has become too strong."

Kankurō sat down heavily. Yūra hadn't bothered to lower his voice thanks to the privacy seals around their tent.

"You don't understand. We are fucked! Have you even seen them in battle? They rip apart shinobi like they were rag dolls!"

"Our job isn't to question. We need to obey the Kazekage and pick the opportune time to strike."

Kankurō shivered. He would have to face them. The monsters of his generation, the team that killed Orochimaru, Gaara, Itachi, Han and Kakuzu. What the hell was he supposed to do against that?

Yūra filled the silence, "Kakashi's team will be in the forefront of the battle with the Akatsuki. We shouldn't worry about dealing with them. Instead we will focus on their support lines. Tsunade will be the enemy you will need to prepare for."

Kankurō barked out a laugh filled with nervous tension. "It says something when fighting one of the Sannin is the better of the two options!"

Yūra frowned at him.

"Do not underestimate your abilities. You and Temari were given the best trainers. You are one of the strongest shinobi Sunagakure has to offer. We will also have the advantage of surprise and numbers since we will not attack until the Konoha forces are engaged with the Akatsuki."

Kankurō wasn't convinced. Tsunade was one of the Sannin. Before Kakashi trained the Leaf's new monsters they were the scariest things that walked. Each of them had Kage level strength and had survived more battles than any ten other shinobi combined. And now he had to face one of them.

'If by some miracle I survive this I'm going to fucking kill Temari.'

*****BREAK*****

Asuma hadn't slept much that night. He was too eager and anxious to finally get revenge. The Akatsuki had taken the greatest thing that had ever happened to him and had ripped it away. Kurenai had died a shinobi's death. She had completed her mission and kept her team safe. But she was still dead. Asuma knew that hole in his spirit would never be healed. But the blood of the Akatsuki would make him feel a hell of a lot better.

His training had been brutal but he was at the top of his game. He also was leading a brilliantly powerful team. Neji was a prodigy that had grown into one of the village's most powerful taijutsu specialists. Rock Lee wasn't quite as good due to the lack of a powerful dojutsu. That statement was true until he opened the gates. Then Lee could keep up with the best there was and go even further. The team was rounded out by a weapons expert who could provide brutal long range support and had a number of close range options as well.

He was impatient to get on with it all. They had arrived at the outskirts of Amegakure. A few clones had gone in and requested Amegakure to surrender. That hadn't happened and now hundreds of Kage Bunshin swarmed into Amegakure proper. The impossibly tall buildings seemed to consume the clones but evidently there hadn't been much resistance yet as they were all still waiting.

Asuma lit a cigarette while he waited.

"Really? Now?" Tenten admonished him. She didn't like his smoking habit.

Asuma just shrugged and ignored her. It wasn't the first time someone had complained about his smoking and it wouldn't be the last. If he was trying to be stealthy he wouldn't smoke but this was going to be a straight up brawl. No need to worry about the smell clinging to his clothes.

'Hmm I wonder if these suits have an odor repellant? Those seals can do just about everything; it wouldn't surprise me if Sakura added it on a whim.'

Asuma's own suit wasn't particularly special. He had a few tricks but primarily it was just additional weaponry he could send hurtling at his enemies. He almost had declined the offer to wear it. It really wasn't his style but in the end Kakashi had asked if style mattered more than killing every last one of the Akatsuki.

'Manipulative bastard.'

Overhead he saw the strange creations the pale guy had drawn. There were five of them up there. Three of them were helmed by Naruto clones while a Sasuke clone and a Kakashi clone rode the remaining two. They were there to scout as well as keep the crazy bomber from Iwagakure at bay. If any of those clay creations came near his team it would be Asuma's job to blow them away.

"Come on, let's get this show on the road already," he muttered impatiently.

*****BREAK*****

The heavy rain showed no signs of letting up. Naruto had his ANBU mask on while he waited for the clones to encounter opponents. Only one clone had been destroyed so far. There was hardly any resistance. Only a few Ame nin who were genin or chūnin at best.

Naruto's limit was four clones on standby brimming with senjutsu energy. It would have been nice if he could make dozens of clones doing that but it required substantial chakra reserves to use senjutsu. When he did his initial Kage Bunshin to create four clones his chakra was evenly split and they had just enough to fully go into sage mode. He had tried it with five clones and it hadn't worked.

The real Naruto was also in sage mode and that meant he absolutely knew the Akatsuki hadn't fled. He sensed a number of massively powerful charka signatures with his senjutsu senses. While he couldn't maintain sage mode for very long he could reenter it as long as he was out of combat and sitting still. The clones were a shortcut to reenter sage mode in the middle of a battle.

Naruto felt a dozen clones die rapidly as he received their memories.

"Kakashi-sensei we have Kisame leading a group of skilled shinobi. A missing nin from Kusa, a Katon specialist and a missing nin from Kiri, he's a kenjutsu specialist. Also we have two individuals with weird piercings on their body similar to what the reports said Yahiko had on his body. One of them seems strangely mechanical in nature and is able to fire explosive projectiles."

Naruto saw the battle that had played out from the memories of the clones.

A dozen clones had charged and stopped on a dime to unleash **Futon: Shinkugyoku** (Wind Release: Vacuum Bullets). The hail of wind projectiles had done little damage.

Kisame took the lead and his massive sword seemed draw the Futon projectiles into it. The others dodged the attacks easily enough and the mechanical like creature countered with a barrage of missiles. One clone jumped into the path of the missile to test their potency and give Naruto the memories of what had occurred immediately.

The others dodged and then sped into close combat with their katanas. Kisame had more than earned his reputation and had easily defended himself. And as soon as one blow was blocked the Bunshin would dissipate and the energy was sucked into Samehada. Dai Munashi dueled with another clone and his skill was great but the clone's was even better. The Kiri kenjutsu specialist was flabbergasted at a mere clone driving him back.

Luckily for him the more human looking overly pierced Akatsuki member dashed in with a black rod he pushed out of his hand and used as a weapon. Naruto felt the memories of the clone as it got frustrated by being unable to get past the guard.

The Katon specialist sent **Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique) at a batch of clones. While the clones were able to dodge the swarm of miniature fireballs the damage to ground caused debris to lash out in random directions popping a few of the clones. It only took a scratch to dissipate a Kage Bunshin and the Kusa nin knew it.

It hadn't taken long with Kisame at the forefront for the katana wielding clones to be defeated.

Naruto briefly described the abilities he saw to Kakashi and Kakashi used his shortwave radio built into the ANBU mask to relay that his team was going to engage.

"All team leaders please avoid section 3C on the map. We will engage Kisame Hoshigaki and a minimum of four A ranked shinobi that are with him."

Asuma's voice came through the airwaves, "Roger that… meanwhile we've got a giant centipede and an ox ten times larger than it should be. No sign of anything in the air yet."

Once the messages were relayed team Kakashi increased their speed by a significant margin and rushed toward Kisame's group.

*****BREAK*****

Asuma's team was the obvious choice to take down the massive summons. Tenten immediately activated chakra on a fuinjutsu seal on her back and a quiver of arrows and a massive bow were unsealed. She ran up the side of a moderate sized building and began peppering the centipede with arrows.

Only these weren't normal arrows. They had an explosive seal attached to their arrowheads so that when they impacted something it would explode. Her arrows slammed into the centipede with deadly precision and explosive power. The creature crashed into the side of another building under the fury of her archery.

The ox charged forward and crushed everything in its path.

"Yosh, this one is mine!"

Asuma let him have it. He wanted to kill Akatsuki not their summoned beasts. Lee was a blur in his neon green fuinjutsu suit. His weights were off which made his speed nearly impossible for most people to keep up with, even without using Hachimon.

As the ox charged it attempted to crush Lee under foot however Lee was far too fast and dodged. As soon as he completed the dodge he did a flying roundhouse to the Ox's ankle and shattered the delicate bone. The creature brayed with agony as his leg crumpled under him. The green clad shinobi followed up his first kick by leaping onto the creature and sending a barrage of bone shattering strikes to the ox's massive head.

It swiveled its head around trying to impale Lee on its horns but it was a futile gesture. Lee was too fast and too strong and soon the creature dissipated in a puff of smoke after Lee shattered the summons' skull.

The centipede wasn't quite finished yet as it tried to snake around the pinpoint accurate arrows. The bulk of the centipede was too large to avoid the strikes and it soon met the same fate as the giant ox.

"All clear here," Asuma reported as they made their way deeper into Amegakure.

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi's Sharingan eye detected traps in the buildings as they moved through them. The place was like a maze. However with the power of his dojutsu they could be quickly neutralized by a Naruto clone or application of ninjutsu to set them off.

After clearing away some paper bombs he caught sight of their quarry.

Kisame grinned and said, "Kakashi Hatake. I haven't had a serious fight in a while; let's see if your reputation is accurate."

The Asura path opened up with a spray of missiles while Mui launched **Katon: Karyūdan** (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet). Sasuke was already forming hand seals before Mui even finished his jutsu. The young Uchiha finished and used the rain and puddles on the ground to augment **Suiton: Suirei Kabe **(Water Release: Water Wall).

The water in the air and ground became a thick wall that stopped the missiles cold and harmlessly exploded against it sending water sprays in all directions. The bullets of fire were extinguished with minimal effort.

Kakashi wasn't one to sit idle and quickly formed Mizu Bunshin. While strictly inferior to Kage Bunshin in almost every way since they only contained a portion of the power and speed of the original, they made for excellent distractions. They didn't split the user's chakra and with the water all around them it took only a small amount of chakra compared to normal.

Kakashi sent his Mizu Bunshin through the water wall as Sasuke lowered the jutsu. While that happened he went underground using **Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu** (Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu). The ground was pavement so it made it harder to use the jutsu correctly. To a prodigy like Kakashi though it only delayed him slightly.

As the water wall came down and Kakashi's Bunshin sought to engage the enemy Sakura lifted her forearm and kunai screamed out at breakneck speed. Dai brought his blade up and deflected them neatly. His concentration was on the speeding kunai which meant he didn't detect the chakra presence of Kakashi rush up from underground.

The Human Path thanks to the Rinnegan did see it and instantly pounced on Kakashi. Kakashi deflected a chakra rod as he pushed out of the ground. Dai stumbled over the disrupted earth and watched in a daze as Kakashi dueled Pain.

Kakashi's kunai blurred and met every strike the Human Path attempted. It didn't take long for Kakashi to create an opening and exploit it with a jarring kick to the Akatsuki's knee. The kneecap exploded form the chakra powered blow and Pain went down. Kakashi darted in and got behind the Human Path and stabbed a kunai into the back of his head.

While that was occurring Naruto had blazed forward and rushed the Asura Path. Buzz saws erupted from the strange mechanical looking shinobi and threatened to dice Naruto. However he was in Sage mode and it didn't take long for him to obliterate Pain with Kawazu Kumite. Amazingly he wasn't fully finished from the blow, merely highly injured. Naruto drew his new chakra katana and sliced through the creature.

After finishing the Suiton jutsu Sasuke had sped toward his target. The Katon user saw the Sharingan wielder rushing towards him and launched **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique).

Sasuke was a bit miffed about a Kusa nin using one of the Uchiha clan staples and ruthlessly used Amaterasu while Mui was finishing his own jutsu. The black flames erupted over Mui's body. The jōnin managed to complete his own ninjutsu, despite the agonizing pain, but it was a simple matter for Sasuke to dodge the incoming attack.

Mui threw himself into one of the large puddles of water desperately trying to put out the flames. Unfortunately for him the black flames of Amaterasu couldn't be put out by something as mundane as water. He died in agony a few moments later as the flames ripped through him.

Kisame had finished dealing with Kakashi's Mizu Bunshin and roared out a challenge, "You want to use Suiton against me?"

He spat out a huge quantity of water from his mouth to combine with the rain and the water on the ground to form **Suiton: Bakusui Shōha** (Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave). The torrent of water was thirty feet high and Kisame rode his own wave as it crashed over the battlefield.

Sakura darted out of the way while Naruto rushed through the hand seals to use a senjutsu empowered **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). The power was magnified many times more than normal and met the crashing waves head on. Kisame split Naruto's jutsu with Samehada. The blade greedily drank in the chakra however the sheer size of the Futon jutsu meant that most of the water was still blown back except the part that was in Kisame's immediate vicinity.

The shark like shinobi was impressed by the chakra his blade had absorbed. More importantly he realized that this was the most dangerous fight of his life. Leader-sama had sent two of his bodies with him and they were both dead. The arrogant Katon user was dead and only Dai Munashi was still up and fighting.

Now fully on his guard and loving every minute of the fight Kisame looked around for whom to focus on first.

*****BREAK*****

Obito looked at Nagato's withered body and saw the change in expression.

"Has something happened?"

"Yes. It seems you were correct Madara. Kakashi and his team are more formidable than I expected."

Obito narrowed his one eye, "Can you still defeat them?"

He could tell Nagato was pondering the matter.

"They are strong but not invincible. I will begin the next phase of the plan."

Obito had gone over it with them. Now the Amegakure shinobi would charge en mass at the Naruto clones and Konoha forces. They would be stiffened by half of the Zetsu clones and the newly resurrected Paths of Pain. At the same time the Suna nin would retreat from Amegakure and strike for Tsunade and the medical nin. While that was going on Deidara would begin his aerial assault on the attacking Konoha forces.

The man pretending to be Madara simply replied, "Good."

*****BREAK*****

Deidara was thrilled that the order to attack had finally been given. He flew on a dragon made of clay ready to rain destruction down on his enemies. It would have been more artistic if he was flying in front of the two Paths of Pain but they had overruled him.

'Style matters more than tactics; sadly he does not appreciate my art.'

The Preta Path was riding a clay owl Deidara had crafted earlier. The Deva Path was riding something utterly devoid of any artistic style. The hideous bird creature had three short legs and an oversized beak shaped like a drill. In addition various piercings were scattered across its body.

'Hideous.'

They flew high above the towers of Amegakure and as they began to swoop down five drawn birds approached them.

"Being able to fight another artist is sublime. I will show the world that art is an explosion!"

*****BREAK*****

Three Naruto Kage Bunshin, a Sasuke Kage Bunshin and a Kakashi Kage Bunshin rode on the drawn animals Sai had created. They had circled the air waiting for Deidara's arrival. Once noticed they immediately flew to intercept and deal with the powerful explosive user.

As the two aerial forces raced to each other both reacted.

The clay dragon spit smaller clay birds that raced toward the clones. The lead Naruto clone responded with **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). The massive blast of wind easily dispelled the clay bombs; some were even set off by the buffeting winds.

Deidara flew above the jutsu while the Preta Path absorbed it. The Deva Path just powered through it with his more solid summon who was only marginally affected by the jutsu.

The Kakashi clone steered his bird drawing higher chasing after the onetime Iwa nin. Sasuke swooped below the fight and threw shuriken by the score at the Preta Path. Black rods deflected them easily enough when suddenly Kakashi abandoned his pursuit of Deidara and appeared behind the Preta Path using Kawarimi with one of the shuriken. Chidori was used due to the lower chakra requirement as he lashed out to strike through the back of Pain.

Somehow he had been sensed even though his opponent's back was turned. Pain dodged the lightning blade and Kakashi pushed forward. There wasn't a lot of space to maneuver on the back of a clay owl and the clone had his target dead to rights. You couldn't block a Chidori; it would go straight through an arm.

However the Preta Path simply used **Fujūtsu Kyūin** (Blocking Technique Absorption Seal) and the fierce Raiton chakra was absorbed. The Kakashi clone was low on chakra at this point and changed tactics by taking its kunai and ramming it into the wing of the clay construct. Deidara's creation could no longer fly effectively and began spiraling downward with the Kakashi clone and the Preta Path on it.

With the advantage of altitude Deidara's clay dragon continued to spit out miniature bird bombs that homed in on the rest of the Team Seven clones. This time a Naruto clone used **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) to send them off course.

The Deva Path lanced out with a chakra rod and skewered one of avian drawings that a Naruto clone was riding. The Naruto clone instantly formed a perfect Rasengan in his palm and thrust it at the Akatsuki leader. The Deva Path met the attack head on with a chakra rod. The swirling force of the Rasengan broke the chakra rod, however it deflected the deadly ball away from Pain. In mid air the Naruto clone could do nothing but attempt to block Pain's follow up punch. And while it was a picture perfect block the force of the attack had enough momentum to dissipate the Kage Bunshin.

Sasuke was underneath the fight and circled back up and fired Chidori Senbon at the misshapen bird. The attacks hit home and seared through the flesh of the bird but evidently the beast was sturdy enough to keep flying despite being perforated with Raiton energy.

The Deva Path circled back around and had the remaining two Naruto clones within range.

**"****Shinra Tensei"** (All Mighty Push)

The Naruto clone countered with **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). The force of Pain's attack ripped through Naruto's jutsu like it wasn't even there. The implacable force slammed into the bird drawings and the two clones. The clones instantly went poof and it was now only the Sasuke clone.

He elevated chasing after Deidara. As the clay dragon tried to turn to spew more of its clay weaponry Sasuke's bird stayed in its rear arc. Deidara simply turned around on the clay dragon and deployed a slew of clay spiders. The clone's Sharingan eye whirled and it knew that the impact of even a near miss explosion would be enough to shatter the integrity of a Kage Bunshin. Chakra gathered at its feet and he launched himself airborne above the spiders. Now in a free fall he hastily fired off a **Chidori** **Eiso** (Chidori Spear) directly for Akatsuki member's heart.

Deidara didn't become an S ranked shinobi merely on the strength of his **Kibaku Nendo** (Explosive Clay). He still possessed the reflexes of the top 1% of the shinobi world. He threw himself to the side to avoid the spear and was only grazed on the arm by it.

"Bastard that hurt!"

The Sasuke clone was out of chakra and had no more tricks as it began to free fall to the ground far below.

It was content in the knowledge that it was part of just the first flying clone attack squadron. The sister squadron was waiting in the wings watching from the ground to see how Deidara would fend off their attacks. Sharingan still whirling the last sight it saw before dissipating and sending the memories back to the original was five more ink birds with clones flying toward the battlefield.

*****BREAK*****

Iruka's squad had seen little sign of the enemy until Amegakure shinobi started rushing in. Many of them were slaughtered as they met with the Naruto clones blades and Futon jutsu. While the clones meted out fearful slaughter it only took a scratch to dissipate one which meant they were being thinned out by attrition.

When some Amegakure nin broke through the clone screen Iruka lashed out with **Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu** (Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique). Normally the A rank ninjutsu would take an extraordinary amount of chakra, however with all of the rain the drain on his chakra was barely noticeable. The water crashed into the Rain shinobi like the fist of an angry god. It shattered the paved ground of the city and killed two shinobi while crippling a third.

The rest of his team engaged with kunai scrolls and their own attacks and their first brush with the enemy was an unqualified success.

They continued further into Amegakure and saw dead shinobi. Many of them were sliced apart or stabbed and a few of them were dashed across buildings which Iruka suspected was done by a high powered Futon jutsu.

One of the chūnin whistled, "Namikaze-sama ripped right through these guys."

Iruka turned to him, "Stay sharp, Naruto's clones have paved the way but we can't let our guard down."

Iruka's caution was awarded when they heard the sound of impact and rocks being smashed. Above them the Preta Path had fallen from the sky and used chakra to somewhat limit the damage of the fall as his feet slammed into the side of a building. The explosive impact sent rocks sailing down as well as the Pain.

Iruka spotted the Akatsuki robes and quickly send the communication out, "Iruka has encountered an Akatsuki member who just fell from the sky."

Pain crashed into the ground. He was injured but not critically so. Kunai were thrown at him in a barrage and he rolled under them and deflected others with a chakra rod. Iruka could tell by his movements that this was a dangerous opponent. Well that and the fact he survived a fall at what amounted to terminal velocity.

Iruka snapped out **Suiton: Suiben** (Water Release: Water Whip). Using one in each hand he charged forward while signaling his squad to provide support.

*****BREAK*****

Kisame knew he was facing incredibly dangerous opponents. He took a page out of Kakashi's playbook and brought forth several Mizu Bunshin. As he was doing that Sakura used **Magen: Jubaku Satsu** (Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death). He was quickly enthralled with the Genjutsu however his loyal blade Samehada pushed some of the chakra it had eaten earlier into Kisame and disrupted the jutsu in a fraction of a second.

Sasuke was annoyed that he had used Amaterasu on the Katon user. Even with Itachi's eyes he couldn't use the black flames multiple times in a row. Kisame was the true threat at this point. Sasuke saw the Mizu Bunshin and quickly engaged them with taijutsu. Since the Mizu Bunshin didn't retain the speed and power like a Kage Bunshin he made quick work of his opponents.

Naruto had dropped out of sage mode and drew his katana, ready to do battle with what many considered the most dangerous swordsman alive.

Kakashi dashed toward the real Kisame who let loose with **Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu** (Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu) at the charging Kakashi. The water dragon was incredibly massive and had the force of a freight train as it sped off to obliterate Hatake. Kakashi countered with **Doton: Doryūheiki** (Earth Release: Mud Wall). Solid stone erupted from the ground and stopped the water dragon cold. Doton tended to beat Suiton and Kakashi made good use of the elemental advantage.

Naruto came in swinging with a lightning fast slash that Kisame parried. Kisame was strong and actually shoved Naruto away. The jinchūriki had been used to being far stronger than his opponents and it was something of a shock to be moved so easily. Granted he wasn't in sage mode but still that was an unwelcome surprise. He was not deterred long as he let loose with a blisteringly fast counterattack.

Dai Munashi could barely follow the swordplay despite being an expert in kenjutsu himself. He decided to go after Sakura as the only one he might have a chance again. The missing nin from Kiri rushed the Genjutsu specialist. Sakura ducked underneath the first swing and countered with a palm strike.

She was actually slightly too far away to hit her target. That was part of the plan since she had activated the fuinjutsu seal in the palm of her suit to let out a blast of concentrated sulfuric acid. Being at such close quarters gave Dai almost no time to react and as he dodged away the acid slammed into his ribs and ate through clothing, skin and flesh. He screamed in agony but was too good of a shinobi to drop his weapon.

Instead he slashed again at Sakura who blocked his blade with her forearm. The blade ricocheted off her left arm like it was striking a solid wall. Her left palm had a fuinjutsu seal as well and it drilled senbon at vicious speed directly into Dai's chest. He gurgled once and fell still.

Naruto didn't want to use up his senjutsu powered clones just yet so he tapped into the fox's power and covered himself in the red chakra cloak. In his next clash with Kisame the sword ripped free of its white bindings and seemed to come alive. Naruto could feel the demonic chakra leak from him and go into the sword. He backed up in alarm.

Kisame grinned viciously displaying all of his shark teeth, "Samehada wants more!"

Kakashi drove in close and avoided the living blade. However with Kisame's longer reach and sharp reflexes he was stymied. He quickly thought about his options. Ninjutsu was apparently out, genjutsu had seemed ineffective. Kamui was an option but he didn't want to put any more strain on his Sharingan.

Sasuke fired Chidori Senbon that were also consumed by the living blade.

"Hnn, annoying."

The three circled Kisame; if they couldn't pierce his defenses individually then surely they would succeed all together. Hoshigaki didn't like his odds and decided to change them in his favor. And with all the water around him it would be even easier than normal.

**"****Suirō Sameodori no Jutsu!"** (Water Prison Shark Dance Technique). The water falling from the sky and the water on the ground coalesced into a massive watery dome that engulfed all four members of Kakashi's team.

Kisame fused with Samehada to become even more shark like and lost his Akatsuki robes. He wasn't done yet either.

He then used **Kuchiyose no Jutsu** (Summoning Technique). Sharks by the dozen appeared in the water and immediately sped towards the surprised Team Seven.

**AN: **Looking back at the anime the Paths of Pain were at times seemingly unstoppable and other times easily defeated. Konohamaru defeats one even while he is a Genin! I've decided that the 'main' path (Deva) will be the most fearsome. The others are all solid fighters but against S ranked threats individually they aren't going to last long. Also the limitation on multiple uses of Amaterasu is just a slight depowering of what is still a ridiculously abusive ability.

Please let me know what you think!


	63. Chapter 62: Akatsuki Part II

**AN: **Argh this chapter was hard to write. I felt like I did when I was working on the Itachi fight. Hopefully this turned out all right for everyone.

Special thanks to GJMEGA for his awesome beta work!

**Chapter 62:** The Akatsuki Part II

Iruka lashed out with his water whips allowing them to extend twenty feet in front of him. The Akatsuki member who had fallen from the sky dodged the deadly strikes as he moved toward Iruka. The squad with him continued their rather ineffectual barrage of kunai. The man's chakra rod was deflecting the attacks effortlessly.

When the enemy got within five feet Iruka let this jutsu go and thrust his palm out and activated the fuinjutsu seal. A hail of kunai thrust forward with speeds faster than nearly any shinobi had the strength to throw. At such a close distance Pain wasn't fully able to block everything. Vital points were protected however one kunai slammed deep into a shoulder while another slashed through the side.

Anko's husband had hoped for more damage or at least a flinch, he got neither. Pain ignored his wounds and pushed the chakra rod out further from his body as he attempted to skewer the Konoha shinobi.

Iruka evaded the blow by quickly stepping to the side. But the attack was immediately followed up by Pain's other hand coming in fast for a powerful blow. He blocked the blow with his arm and felt the chakra drain out of the fuinjutsu seals on that arm. If he didn't have the suit on the attack would likely have broken it.

Seeing the danger of fighting in close quarters he hastily used Kawarimi to get away and then hastily created several water clones who rushed his opponent. He hoped they would distract his opponent long enough to finish his jutsu.

"**Suiton: Suidon no Jutsu**" (Water Release: Water Bullet Technique) Iruka spat water with immense force. The attack was normally B ranked however with the water everywhere it made it easier to use and struck with the power of an A ranked jutsu.

Instead of successfully putting down or wounding the enemy it did nothing. His foe simply raised his hands and the chakra flowing in the water cut off completely. The water simply trickled down to the ground.

'Damn it we can't get him at range.'

He reviewed his options as his water clones perished. His squad had a weapon user, a Hyūga and a ninjutsu user whose element was unfortunately Katon. Iruka barked out an order and the young Hyūga charged in with him.

'This is going to hurt.'

*****BREAK*****

Yūra was pleased that Kankurō believed his lies. Lord Sasori's plan was coming together nicely. He didn't know the details of Amegakure's defense however he knew that the elite shinobi were now tied down fighting. It made now the perfect time to strike.

He sent the signal to his shinobi and watched as Kankurō suppressed a nervous tremor. The young man was clearly petrified of fighting Konoha despite the clear tactical edge they would have. There was only about 50-60 shinobi around the medical camp in reserve. They would outnumber the enemy by four to one and they would have surprise on their side.

Yūra took his command squad and got into position. Before they could a kunoichi in the Konoha medical corps said, "What are you doing here, has the enemy broken through? We haven't heard of any…"

The Suna commander struck without warning. His kunai flashed and stabbed out straight for her heart. He was surprised when the blade didn't pierce his opponent's armor. The strange suits that all of the Konoha shinobi were wearing had turned his perfect strike aside. The kunoichi stumbled back from the blow and hastily warned the leaf shinobi through the radio.

Instantly all of the Suna forces began assaulting their allies. Futon jutsu lashed out along with kunai and explosive tags. The puppet brigade unleashed their creations as well. He saw Kankurō's strange hybrid snake like puppet wrap around the kunoichi he had failed to kill. The construct squeezed and the fuinjutsu seals bled chakra and then collapsed all together. With nothing left to prevent the crushing embrace the shinobi's spine snapped and she went limp.

Kankurō redirected Surizarinku to another enemy as the leaf shinobi desperately tried to recover from the vicious surprise attack.

It hadn't gone exactly the way Yūra had planned. The fuinjutsu suits that the Konoha shinobi wore made them hard to take down. And already he could see Suna shinobi killed by the deadly surprises they had sealed away. And this was before their main obstacle presented itself.

'Ah there she is.'

Tsunade Senju gave a battle cry and then obliterated a spider like puppet with a chakra enhanced punch. Her angry voice rose above the din of battle as she summoned Katsuyu.

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi had taught his team never to play around with an enemy. He had taught them to kill them as swiftly and as efficiently as possible. In this particular fight the plan had been not to use their most deadly and possibly chakra draining attacks. The goal behind that thought was to save it for what Kakashi feared was the true threat – the Rinnegan user.

However given their circumstances now it was time to take the gloves off. Kakashi signaled his team with a precise flare of chakra as the sharks dove toward all four members of Team Seven.

The sharks were summoned creatures which meant they were susceptible to genjutsu. Sakura flashed a few hand signs and immediately the sharks became confused. Some tore into each other while others went directly at the original summoner.

Naruto popped one of his senjutsu clones and felt nature energy infuse him. With that power he easily tore apart the sharks that came near.

Sasuke grinned at the chakra flare. Susanoo was his ace weapon and he eagerly created the chakra construct. The sharks attempted to gnaw on the purplish chakra but were swept aside easily. The construct's blade swept out at the transformed Kisame who had to hastily dive to avoid the blade.

Kakashi didn't dare use Raiton under the water for fear of electrocuting his allies as well. He had seals placed on the bottom of his shoes which were basically compressed air. The idea was to be able to jump to incredible heights or even pantomime flying for a limited amount of time. Underwater they would work just as well to rocket him next to Kisame. Using a trickle of chakra he activated the modified storage seals and was pushed through the water at incredible speeds.

He blew by the summoned sharks, only briefly lashing out with his kunai before pushing past and straight for Kisame.

Kisame was struggling to dodge the Susanoo blade under water. The water did nothing to slow the blade of chakra. Hatake wasn't sure if he couldn't absorb chakra while fused with Samehada or if the ultimate ability of the Sharingan was simply not susceptible. Either way Kisame was forced to dodge away from the blade several times as Kakashi approached. To make matters even worse for him one of the sharks Sakura had put under a genjutsu nearly bit off his leg.

As Kisame dodged he lashed out with **Mizu Tatsumaki** (Tornado of Water). The water rotated impossibly fast and sped toward Kakashi. Kakashi adjusted the angle of his approach and was able to dodge the Suiton jutsu. He then used an underwater Shunshin while Kisame was distracted by the Susanoo.

Now within range Kakashi used his own Sharingan. Kamui warped the water around Kisame and threatened to drag him into it. The shark like shinobi thrashed and pulled away from the swirling vacuum. His strength was impressive meaning only some of his skin was ripped off. Now completely unbalanced, he was unable to do much when Sasuke's charka construct ran him through. Blood swirled in the water as blood pooled out from **Kirigakure no Kaijin** (Monster of the Hidden Mist)

Wasting no further time Kakashi rocketed in just as Naruto swam forward. Naruto's Rasengan took Kisame in the ribs while Kakashi's kunai slammed into his eye and into the brain. Around them the gigantic water sphere lost cohesion and collapsed.

Kisame's body twitched and he and his blade separated. Kakashi quickly decapitated the head and stored it away in a storage scroll and did the same with Samehada.

Their job was far from done however. The radio chatter filtered in. The Amegakure nin were attacking all along the front. Things were still going well however the news had just come through that Sunagakure had betrayed them.

Naruto cursed under his breath.

"Naruto use your modified Hiraishin to return to base camp and bring up reinforcements to deal with Suna. Then return once you are sure you have sufficient forces."

Naruto still had some senjutsu chakra left which was a very good thing. Using his bastardized form of his father's jutsu was chakra intensive. He flipped through the hand seals and in an orange flash he was gone.

*****BREAK*****

Asuma was pissed when he heard the news about Suna's treachery. Those bastards were going to make his revenge more difficult.

"Should we return back to camp?" Tenten asked.

Asuma shook his head, "No we are going on. Kakashi will give us orders if we are needed."

The four elite jōnin continued deeper in Amegakure. Neji's Byakugan kept them safe from the numerous paper bombs that were buried in the streets. They didn't make it far before they were attacked.

Asuma grinned viciously as he saw who he was fighting. Two Akatsuki robed members. They didn't match the description of any of the known Akatsuki members but they would do. The first member looked oddly mechanical and he started their battle by launching a quintet of missiles.

Sarutobi quickly smashed them aside with **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm). The other Akatsuki member raced forward with a chakra rod in his hand. Lee glided forward to intercept and easily dodged the strike and responded with a spinning roundhouse. His kick was blocked but his opponent skidded back from the force of the taijutsu master's blow.

Tenten fired a half dozen kunai with ninja wired attached. They swept wide around the Human Path with the goal of wrapping her opponent in the wire. The enemy slid below the thrown kunai and slashed out with the chakra rod against Lee. Lee slammed his elbow into the side of the chakra rod snapping it and then attempted to hit his opponent with a back fist. Pain ducked under the blow and their taijutsu duel began in earnest.

The Asura Path was undeterred by his missiles failing and sought to take the fight into close quarters. There he met Neji Hyūga. Neji had only grown in skill since becoming a jōnin. The genius label was a correct one and his mastery of the Gentle Fist was second to none. The mechanical Pain was dismantled underneath the deadly barrage of attacks.

Asuma helped the young Hyūga finish his opponent off and then did the same to Lee's opponent. Lee could have wrapped up his fight sooner but he had not yet decided to access Hachimon. The bearded jōnin took great relish in digging his trench knives into the back of the bastards who killed Kurenai. Yes they weren't the ones who did it personally but it was their Kami forsaken organization.

His triumphant victory was short lived as the ground trembled with moderately distant explosions. Looking to the sky his team saw the mad bomber of Iwa raining death down on the other Konoha elements behind them.

It appeared their aerial defense plan had failed. Asuma asked for orders and then the radio cut out completely.

"What should we do?" Lee asked.

"Push on and find the rest of the Akatsuki. I can protect a small area from bombs with my Futon jutsu but our forces are too scattered for it to make much of a difference."

Tenten and Neji shared a grim look. The fuinjutsu suits would help some of their comrades survive incidental damage and nearby explosions but a direct hit would overload them. Between that and Suna's betrayal the butcher's bill would be high.

*****BREAK****

Iruka let out a grunt of pain. They had managed to kill the chakra absorbing Pain but it had been a close thing. He had taken a chakra rod through the shoulder before the enemy had finally succumbed. He knew that he had pushed his training to the very limit. While he would never be as strong as Naruto or Kakashi he knew he was a solid jōnin. He had a good squad with him and all of them had fuinjutsu suits which gave them a sizeable edge. Even so they had nearly been defeated.

Communications had been cut off and the field of battle had fallen into chaos. Suna fought Konoha while clay bombs rained from the sky. His squad insisted they return to Tsunade and get his shoulder healed. After the battle he just fought he didn't have the energy to argue.

'At least Anko is safe in Konoha.'

*****BREAK*****

Kankurō knew it had been an idiotic idea. He had known it! But who was he to go against his old sensei, the Kazekage?

Tsunade was a monster on the battlefield. One punch from her meant annihilation. Several Futon specialists threw wind jutsu after wind jutsu at her trying to keep her away from the fragile bodies of their comrades.

While they did their best to slow the impossibly strong Sannin the puppeteer corps tried to bring down the massive slug. On that front Kankurō felt some progress was being made. Senbon, explosive tags, physical damage from blades and spears from various mechanical constructs were ripping into the slug. It wasn't fully clear how much progress was being made because as pieces were sliced off they formed into their own slugs.

'It must take chakra to do all that. Not even a Sannin has an infinite supply.'

He redirected his mole/snake hybrid puppet to intercept an enemy chūnin who got a bit too close for comfort. The shinobi had a chakra scalpel in his hand and was almost on top of him. His puppet attempted to slam into him but the enemy nin dodged to the side. Kankurō's fingers danced and the puppet hurtled back at speeds that a normal animal could never mimic. It slammed into the medic's side and fuinjutsu seals flared in response.

'Those fucking seals, I bet the bastard gets up afterwards too.'

The uniforms the Konoha shinobi wore gave them a second lease on life. It didn't grant them invincibility but the seals could stop attacks that would normally kill at least once. And their masks made them immune to the various smokes and toxins that filled the air. The only one who didn't have a mask on was Tsunade and the idea of poison affecting her was laughable.

Things weren't going terribly but Kankurō had hoped that they would have made more progress. It was only a matter of time before the other Konoha shinobi went back to reinforce their medical staff. As if summoned by Kankurō's pessimistic thoughts disaster struck.

In a flash of orange a new foe appeared right next to Tsunade. As soon as he appeared he summoned a hundred clones. Kankurō felt terror flush through his body. It was Naruto Namikaze. A jinchūriki like his brother Gaara had been.

A hundred clones appeared and half charged with blades drawn while others fought wind jutsu with wind jutsu. It disgusted Kankurō how a single man's clones could jutsu to a standstill the elemental specialist of his homeland.

But the jinchūriki wasn't done with just that. He slammed his hand into the ground and a massive white cloud of smoke sprang into existence and then filtered away leaving behind a massive magenta toad wielding a Sasumata.

Kankurō raced toward Yūra and shouted at him, "We have to retreat. We can't take on Tsunade _and_ Naruto!"

Yūra shook his head dismissively. "Don't give up yet. We have numbers and you are more skilled than you know. You are the son of a Kazekage and the student of another Kazekage, fight with everything you have."

'Crazy bastard. We are so dead.'

*****BREAK*****

Nagato frowned. The Paths of Pain were not doing well in their current split formation. The abilities of the nine tails and that of his team were expected. That had been the entire point behind splitting his Paths in order to see all of their abilities before the final confrontation. Any damage and lost chakra that they suffered before then would also be a bonus.

What he had not counted on was the general ability of the Konoha forces. The uniforms they wore were lined with fuinjutsu formula that gave his enemies a unique advantage. And then there was the team that included Asuma, the son of the Sandaime. Not only was he stronger than reports had suggested but his team was quite lethal. The green clad warrior and the Hyūga had skill that nearly matched his Deva Path's close combat prowess.

'I will send three of the Paths together with half of the Zetsu clones against Sarutobi's team. A few summons added in will be enough to ensure victory.'

Nagato kept up his confident mien. But after seeing everything through his Rinnegan eyes he was no longer so certain of his victory.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto surveyed the battlefield in satisfaction. His clones and now Gamaken were enough to turn the tide of battle here. Unfortunately the aerial one had not gone well. Jiraiya's old student had some strange ability to completely block attacks with sheer force and keep that force hurtling forward. The attack had shattered the ink birds and the clones with ease.

'I'll be back soon guys, but I have to deal with that one and Deidara.'

Naruto had dropped out of Sage mode again but even without his senjutsu senses the fliers were easy to spot. He avoided the battle around him with his superior speed. His eyes scanned a hundred potential threats at once. As he ran he saw glimpses of the battle. It was made more complex by the dissipation of clones; however with his clone training he was able to follow the battle well.

The massive toad and slug were swinging the battle remarkably. Gamaken had mashed the snake puppet quite thoroughly. The slug had drawn much of the attention earlier and now without the dangerous puppet to vex her she was free to spit her acid on living shinobi instead of just puppets.

And without the Futon specialists harassing and pushing away Tsunade there was no one left to stop her brutal assault.

'There we go, now to clear you out of the skies!'

Naruto flashed through the hand seals for **Futon: Sora Tonkachi** (Wind Release: Sky Hammer). The air creaked and moaned as it folded in on itself and prepared to smash the enemy out of the sky. He made sure to angle the enormous wind jutsu away from his allies.

Pain felt the chakra grow and immediately sensed the danger. He was aided in this by the report Kisame shared from the battle outside of Takigakure as well as his own enhanced Rinnegan sight.

**"****Shinra Tensei"** (All Mighty Push)

And there above the skies of Amegakure the two abilities clashed.

*****BREAK*****

The attack has gone just as Fuyu had planned. They had placed the fuinjutsu sealed bombs throughout the city. They had detonated without a hitch and the city had been engulfed in flames. The samurai stationed in the palace had rushed out to fight whoever had attacked the city and in the confusion the Kinkaku Force had slipped in.

To be sure it hadn't been without its missteps. But their kinetic jutsu allowed them to hit as hard as Tsunade. Combining that kinjutsu with their already lethal abilities meant that both the samurai stationed here and shinobi guardians hadn't lasted long.

She had lost seven of her shinobi during the fight. That had been more than she had hoped but not more than she had planned for. The Fire Daimyo was dead as was all of his family in the palace. Soon the Raikage would prop up the puppet Daimyo and Hi no Kuni would hopefully descend into civil war.

Fuyu personally had her doubts that this would break Konoha but it would be a start. At the very least supplies would begin to dwindle. Food, kunai, ink for fuinjutsu, parchment and other essential shinobi items would have to be rationed.

Now was time for the second stage of her plan. It was time to attack Konoha itself. She had made sure her best infiltrators weren't in the thick of the fighting. Even with all of the advantages she had stacked in her favor surprise would still be critical.

And she had a lot of advantages. Many of their best fighters would be in Amegakure. Almost certainly the Namikaze's team would be there. No doubt they would bring plenty of their sensor shinobi to scout for traps and hidden surprises. She had certainly done so when she had probed through the forests surrounding Konoha with the Kumogakure invasion force. Without sensors a shinobi army could blindly walk into ruin.

Word of the Fire Daimyo's fall would also reach the village sowing even more confusion. Normal patrols would be disrupted as the Hokage would immediately begin sending shinobi to investigate and assist the populace. Likely they would also send additional shinobi to the borders in case the strike on the capital was a precursor to another invasion.

And in the hours after all of this was occurring Fuyu's team would strike. They had their targets. Their primary focuses were the Hokage, Shikaku Nara and Danzō. The Hokage was on the list for obvious reasons. The Nara clan leader was an intellectual giant who had probably been the mastermind of numerous efforts to confuse and confound the other villages. And the former Raikage always considered Danzō to be the true snake of Konoha. He had thwarted the first attack on the capital of Hi no Kuni despite being atrociously outnumbered. Taking those three down would hamper Konoha's war effort considerably.

Those attacks were likely suicide missions. But every good attack needed a diversion. And the bomb tactics they had just used weren't going to be possible in a shinobi village. Instead they needed a more conventional attack. A strike that would further thin the forces around their targets, an attack that Fuyu would do herself.

'I'm going to gut you Mitarashi. I could choose anyone for this distraction but your death will allow me to go to mine in peace.'

**AN: **Probably not as long as some of you hoped but I want to build some momentum as I work on the next part of this. A quick note – for the most part I'm splitting up view points for some dramatic effect however some events don't follow _exact_ chronological order.


	64. Chapter 63: Akatsuki Part III

**AN: **Thank you for all of your reviews and support.

Special thanks to GJMEGA for his beta work. If you like Nine Tailed Possession you should also thank him as he has agreed to start doing beta work for that story. With his help I decided not to put it on hiatus and it will be my primary focus after Genius Sensei is complete.

**Chapter 63: Akatsuki Part III**

Kakashi's team continued on without Naruto. They dealt with a few Amegakure shinobi with little difficulty and were only slight delayed by the numerous booby trapped buildings and buried paper bombs. The loss of communication was a problem. Kakashi wondered if it had been a specific jutsu, the sheer amount of chakra saturation in the air or a technological attack that had scrambled their radios. Either way it left him in the dark regarding the overall battle structure. Naruto with all of his clones would have a much better idea on how Konoha was faring however he had not yet returned from base camp.

It didn't take them long to figure out what Naruto was doing. Above they felt Naruto's custom jutsu began to form. The air screamed in fury as it sought to obliterate the enemy who had taken control of the skies.

Team Seven watched as two chakra abilities collided. To normal eyes there wasn't much to see, however to someone with the Sharingan it was a sight to behold. The hyper dense air rushed down with enough force to level a fortress only to be met by a wave of power. When the two forces met a thunderclap shattered windows throughout Amegakure. The sky ripped apart as swirls of excess chakra made it shimmer.

To the Sharingan it was a riot of color. Despite the power of Naruto's jutsu it was blocked by the Akatsuki's force wave.

'It makes me wonder if even Sakura's barrier seals could hold that attack back. The only positive thing I can see from this is the amount of chakra Yahiko used here. Unless he has some way of siphoning more chakra in he can't continue to use that ability over and over.'

He explained for Sakura's benefit. "Sakura that attack he is using requires an enormous amount of chakra. He can fluctuate how much he uses, when my clones fought him in the air it was a lot less powerful. If he fires that one at us, take no chances and use your most powerful barrier fuinjutsu."

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura responded.

Sasuke had not needed the explanation since his own eyes and clones had drawn the same conclusion. He idly wondered if the Susanoo could take a direct hit at maximum power. The three of them moved deeper in. So far they had yet to find a shinobi matching the description of Nagato. There was no guarantee he was even here but it would make sense that a Rinnegan wielder was running the Akatsuki. Who else could have assembled so many different S class shinobi and made them work together?

Kakashi had a feeling they were right about that. The Rinnegan was said to be even more powerful than the Sharingan. What strange abilities would he have to deal with? Ultimately there was no way to be certain of their final victory here. Kakashi knew he had done the best he could with his team and they were as ready as they would ever be.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto was shocked that his jutsu had lost. He was aware of Sky Hammer's weaknesses. It didn't do well with pin point targets. It took longer than other types of jutsu to use. It required a ridiculous amount of chakra. What it had going for it was its sheer power and the teme in the sky just faced off with it head on. And won!

He was breathing heavily due to all of the chakra intensive abilities he had been using. He still had his three senjutsu clones ready but he didn't want to use them before they encountered this Rinnegan guy. The description of Nagato was etched in his memory but so far no one had found him.

'I can't leave this guy in the air for too much longer but on the other hand unless I pop a senjutsu clone I don't have a whole lot of options here.'

At the speed nature energy dissipated it would be foolish to jump into sage mode again so soon. First he needed to find Sai in the chaos and get him to put together another ink bird. He quickly made some clones to fan out with orders to pop themselves if they located him. In addition he sent a few to track down Kakashi and let him know where he was going to be.

It didn't take him long to find him. The pale shinobi had a nasty wound on his thigh that was getting healed up by the one of medical nin when Naruto arrived in a blur.

"Sorry to interrupt but I need an ink bird as fast as possible."

Sai still had his mask on since there were a number of foul substances in the air that had been launched by the Suna puppeteers. Even without being able to see his face Naruto could tell the guy was running low on chakra.

Silently he pulled out his ink and drew a bird that swiftly emerged into larger size. Naruto jumped onto the giant painted eagle. His eyes were hard behind his mask. Those clay bombs had killed several Konoha shinobi. Probably even more than Suna's betrayal had. Kakashi would probably chew him out later but this needed to be done.

*****BREAK*****

Neji's eyes had been on full alert which gave his team plenty of time to prepare for the coming onslaught. His eyes widened as he relayed the information to his team.

"Eight non-robed threats approaching with three Akatsuki members. Two of them look exactly like the ones we just defeated." Neji didn't include information about the giant crab or the giant dog that was quickly approaching with them since his team could see them from a distance based on their size.

Asuma was not amused. Either the ones he had fought were some sort of clone or these Akatsuki were really good with a Henge. The Henge was acceptable since he would still have killed some actual Akatsuki members, but if it was a clone then he hadn't killed squat.

Tenten immediately unsealed her bow and began raining explosive arrows down on their opponents. From the distance the mechanical Akatsuki began countering with missiles. Tenten's arrows failed to connect on the shinobi with the three Akatsuki though one took some damage after the arrow exploded. The range gave them enough time to dodge.

The summons weren't so fortunate. The crustacean seemed to weather the blows fairly well but the dog took severe damage. To Tenten's horror when the dog collapsed an explosion of smoke appeared and when it dissipated there were two dogs, both uninjured!

Tenten allowed Asuma to conserve chakra and shot the missiles down before they came close. Neji and Lee moved to the front, ready to do battle with the enemy in close combat. As Asuma joined he stood a little apart so that his jutsu wouldn't harm them.

The Preta Path went toward Asuma who was the only shinobi Pain had seen use ninjutsu during the previous fight. The Preta Path wasn't involved in the fight but all of the Pain's shared vision. The Human Path went toward Neji and the Asura Path went toward Lee. The Zetsu clones spread out and two of them went underground aiming to go after the weapon's mistress in the back of the team formation.

Neji called out a warning of underground opponents heading toward Tenten and proceeded with his taijutsu duel. Unlike the first time where Pain was attempting to kill his opponent he was now focused on defense. When a fighter focuses on defense via blocking as well as falling back and dodging it makes it difficult for their opponent to finish the fight quickly. Lee was experiencing the same issue.

The Preta Path went for Asuma who decided to pull out one of his lesser known abilities.

**"****Raigō: Senjusatsu!"** (Welcoming Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder). Around Asuma a golden spirit like entity coated his body. As the Preta Path approached it turned red and a thousand fists descended on Pain seeking to annihilate him. To Asuma's disbelief the Akatsuki member just raised his palms and the jutsu was absorbed. Recovering quickly he drew his trench knives and slashed at the Pain. Instead of coating them with chakra he just used them as normal bladed weapons for fear of the chakra being absorbed again.

Tenten dropped some explosive seals on the ground and then used the body substitution technique just as the two Zetsu clones came out of the ground. The explosive seals went off and killed one of the clones and badly burned the other. Tenten unsealed a katana and charged at one of the other clones who were encircling the group.

Lee was dishing out harsh blows that were harming even the sturdy Path's body even when he blocked. Lee had to cut off his attack however as a giant claw from the enormous crab threatened to crush him with a downward strike. Fortunately for Lee his speed was such that the oversized summon couldn't hope to hit him unless he was completely distracted. It did, however, make it difficult for Lee to finish off his opponent.

One of the massive hounds pounced on Neji who responded with an almost instantaneous Kaiten. The dog was hurled bodily away as its own power was turned against it by the chakra infused rotation. To a normal sized creature being thrown a hundred feet could be lethal however summons tended to be made of sterner stuff. However when a massive summon like the hound was thrown the impact was far more dangerous and Neji let out a small smile from behind his mask as the hound's back was broken. That smile disappeared quite quickly when the broken summon dissipated and returned as two more.

There were now three massive dogs and it seemed like each time they killed one two sprang up in their place. That was swiftly becoming untenable.

Asuma clashed with the chakra absorbing Akatsuki with his blades to good effect. Likely if he hadn't gone through the harsh training with Kakashi's team after Kurenai's death it would be a different story. But now he was moving with speed and power that significantly surpassed what he had when he was part of the **Shugonin Jūnishi** (Twelve Guardian Ninja). He ducked a punch and countered with his knives scoring several hits. A chakra rod was deflected by one blade while the other sliced into the arm holding it. As Pain tried to compensate by wielding two chakra rods Asuma knocked them aside, drew in close and slammed an elbow into Pain's sternum. While he did that he pushed a bit of chakra through the fuinjutsu seal at the elbow and a gout of acid sprayed out searing through flesh and bone.

The victory happened in the nick of time as one of the hounds pounced on him at the same as a Zetsu clone charged him. He used Kawarimi to replace himself with a log and drove back into the fight. He used his superior speed to cut the Zetsu clone and then pushed chakra into his blades allowing for an easy decapitation.

Tenten slashed and whirled with her blade scoring several cuts on the Zetsu clone. Looking at the battle she realized they needed to do something about the hounds. She assumed that they needed chakra to replicate like this but there wasn't a good way to test it and if she were wrong she didn't want to find out only after there were thirty of the damned things!

Trapping them physically or using a genjutsu seemed to be the only options. Sadly none of the team used genjutsu which left physical restraints.

She shouted out to Lee, "Use your Gates Lee, keep these guys off of me and whatever you do, don't kill the dogs!"

Lee acknowledged her comment by leaping backward and away from the fight. In mid air he screamed as he opened up **Seimon** (Gate of Life). This was the third gate and one that could leave its user tired but not cause any muscle tears like the later gates would. It also quintupled the power of his blows and boosted his speed by a significant amount. He was fast before and now he was blazing. He feinted a rush at the Pain he was fighting who moved into a defensive stance and then pivoted and tore up the ground beneath his feet to do a flying leap at the crab that had been menacing him. In mid air he completed a reverse spinning kick into the crab's torso and instantly cracked its carapace.

A Zetsu clone tried to attack Lee as he was still descending. The idea was good however as soon as he was within arm's reach the bright green taijutsu monster pummeled him and finished the job with a slam to the side of his head that snapped his neck.

Neji had to dodge away from the massive hound and still his reflexive reaction of using the Gentle Fist on the beast's skull and causing a brain hemorrhage. Instead he used the grace of his fighting style to avoid the deadly bite and the mechanical Pain's buzz saws.

Tenten took ninja wire and looped it around one of the legs of the summoned hound. The dog turned to bite her and she was forced to dodge away with the wire still in hand. She swiftly darted to the back leg and coiled it again. Sensing something was wrong the dog tried to move which tightened the wire around both limbs and strung them together.

The shinobi wire tensed and strained as the summon tried to break free, but shinobi wire was designed to hold even incredibly strong shinobi. The dog was dangerous to get near but it had lost all of its mobility.

She was focused on her efforts and didn't see the surprise attack by a Zetsu clone. At the last second she attempted to lash out with her blade but he was already inside her guard and thrust a kunai into her abdomen. The blade had some force behind it however the fuinjutsu seals held and then dissipated. Her torso would now be vulnerable to future attacks but she survived with only some minor bruising.

Asuma decapitated another Zetsu clone and then hurried to help Neji finish the mechanical opponent. Lee needed no assistance as he used the gates power to thrash the Human path. The hounds were proving to be a worrying distraction but Tenten was up to the task. Her skill at manipulating ninja wire, her small size in comparison to the beasts and their relative bloodthirstiness made them easy for her to predict.

By the time the Zetsu clones and the two other Akatsuki members were defeated both additional hounds were trussed up and no longer a threat.

Lee dropped out of the gates and took a breather. He would be fine to continue and would still be able to access the higher level gates but he couldn't do this very often. Neji, who didn't quite have the stamina of Lee, was also a bit winded but able to continue. Asuma had used a fair bit of chakra as well but still had some healthy reserves. Tenten didn't rely on ninjutsu however all of her running around had winded her. Her primary concern was the loss of her fuinjutsu hardening seals on her torso. It made her feel acutely vulnerable despite the fact that she had spent her entire shinobi career up until recently without fancy fuinjutsu suits.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto winged up toward Pain and Deidara. He knew a pure frontal assault would just get him swatted from the sky. As he started to draw near he launched kunai in a high upward arc near the enemy. The kunai would begin to fall down right as he was arriving on his ink bird.

Naruto was not stingy with his kunai either! He threw dozens and dozens at various speeds and levels of strength. He even threw a few directly toward Pain and Deidara though they were easily able to avoid them based on the distance. Battle was about to take place so he popped his senjutsu clone and let the natural energy flow into his body.

As he came close he saw clay bombs being launched his way. As they grew closer he countered them with **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough). The natural energy flowing through his chakra network made the jutsu even more powerful than normal. The clay spiders, birds and assortment of constructs blew apart from the impact of the gale force winds.

Naruto sensed the chakra gathering an instant before Pain finished his **Shinra Tensei** (All Mighty Push).

He used Kawarimi with one of the kunai that was now descending from the sky taking him out of the path of the wave of force. He instantly unsealed one of Sakura's special kunai and launched it at the Akatsuki. As the kunai left his hand it automatically released the storage seal sending an additional 40 kunai racing out. All of those also activated a moment after being unsealed turning the 40 kunai into 1600 kunai.

Naruto watched as the shinobi that matched the description of Yahiko did not use his ace jutsu. Instead he slapped away all of the kunai using a chakra rod.

As the jinchūriki used Kawarimi again he analyzed the situation like Kakashi taught him to. Several options existed. His opponent could be running low on chakra. Or he could be lulling Naruto into a false sense of security and then hit him with it again. Alternatively the jutsu may require time to recharge for a variety of reasons; the most likely reason in Naruto's mind was that such a powerful attack would likely stress the chakra network.

As he once again replaced himself with a falling kunai he launched another specialized kunai, this wave coming from above the two fliers. One of the kunai nicked the ex-Iwa nin across the shoulder and Naruto instantly replaced himself with that projectile.

Deidara was by no means a slouch in taijutsu. But it was not his specialty. Even without Sage mode the taijutsu and kenjutsu focused Naruto would have ripped him apart in close quarters. The fact that he was in Sage mode meant that Deidara was doomed.

Likely Deidara had anticipated that the Konoha ninja's attack was going to rip right through his clay clone, thinking that was his actual opponent. Unfortunately for him Naruto was in Sage mode and that meant he knew precisely where the real Deidara was.

Naruto ripped his blade out of its sheath at speeds greater than **Iaidō** (Way of Iai). The blade did not move in a horizontal slash, instead it plunged straight down and through the clay bird to where the real Deidara was hiding. It slid through his chest with sickening ease.

It was a killing strike and in the last moment of life he detonated all of his remaining clay, including the clay construct Naruto was standing on. Naruto had tried to sheathe his weapon and complete the body substitution technique again however he was a mite too slow. The blast slammed into him and threw him into the air. The fuinjutsu seals guarding against heat saved him from some painful burns however the blast probably would have shattered his ear drums and broken his joints were it not for the enhanced durability of Sage mode. As it was he was flying uncontrollably and wasn't in a great position to defend himself as the drill beak of the malformed bird tried to skewer him.

At the last moment he deflected the charging bird with **Kawazu** **Kumite** (Frog Kumite). The bird's beak was pushed to the side and cracked painfully. Pain came in a moment later with a chakra rod extending and Naruto found he was unable to dodge or block effectively. He took the blow on his shoulder. The chakra rod nearly burst through the fuinjutsu seals however they had just enough energy to negate the piercing strike as they fizzled out.

Naruto was pushed away and was now falling toward the earth. Kunai were still up in the air since had really launched several of them at absurd distances vertically. Before he fell out of range he used another Kawarimi to appear above the Akatsuki.

Pain's Rinnegan could trace the path of the chakra and instantly let loose with **Shinra Tensei** (All Mighty Push). With no time for another body substitution Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and took the jutsu hard.

His entire body was driven back and pummeled. The last of his fuinjutsu seals hardening his suit were ripped asunder. His Sage mode protected him somewhat but it wasn't enough for him to escape injury. Naruto felt a rib crack under the pressure and heavy bruising appeared on his arms.

The natural energy in his body was gone and he reverted painfully back to his normal self. He was much too far away for a Kawarimi to be successful. However that also meant Pain wasn't able to capitalize with a follow-up attack. Naruto was simply too far away after being hurled through the air from the Rinnegan powered jutsu.

That meant that Naruto had a good twenty seconds before he hit the ground. Long enough for him to pop another one of his Sage chakra clones.

'Only one left.'

He then went through the hand seals to perform his poor mimicry of his father's legendary jutsu. Unlike his father's jutsu this required a great deal of chakra. It also took slightly longer than a Kawarimi to complete. However it was pure teleportation. There was no substitution, no being able to track the chakra as it moved from point A to point B. It just appeared at point B. Just like Naruto did, appearing from one the kunai that was sticking out of the deformed monstrosity Pain was riding.

Pain's eyes widened in surprise when Naruto appeared before him again.

"How did you…"

Naruto charged forward with his chakra laced katana, sweeping down with a vicious diagonal cut. Pain's chakra rod snapped when it tried to block the blow and the blade continued on delivering a nasty cut across his chest. Pain stepped back as Naruto instantly moved into another attack. This time Pain channeled his own chakra into the rod to prevent it from snapping and their close quarter's battle began.

Yahiko was Pain's greatest body. It moved far faster and had more strength and stamina than all of the others. He could match the green suited foe that had just recently defeated another of his Paths, even when he had used his kinjutsu. For the first time since started using Yahiko's corpse he felt outmatched. His opponent's speed and power were simply greater than his. If it were not for the fact that he was now purely defending against his opponent's strikes with two chakra rods his borrowed body would have been diced to pieces.

Naruto didn't only fight with speed and power but also with grace and skill. His training under Konoha's best kenjutsu masters was paying off in spades. Feinting one way and then twisting his blade with maximum force at a different angle was forcing Pain to block in ways that pushed his arms out of position. Each move led to another further manipulation of Pain's movements. There was no time for **Shinra Tensei** (All Mighty Push) or anything else.

When Naruto judged the time was right he fully pushed out the chakra rods and finished the fight with **Hiken: Tsukikage** (Secret Sword: Moonlight). The vertical sword strike struck so quickly that it left an afterimage of Naruto. His futon enhanced blade bisected Pain right down the middle.

'Sorry pervy sage, there was no way your student could live after what he has done.'

With the last bits of senjutsu chakra he had left he stabbed the bird to death and teleported back to his team.

*****BREAK*****

Kankurō had lost all of his puppets. Every last one of them he had brought with him was smashed to pieces. If it weren't incredibly unmanly he would have wept. Now he had a new goal in mind. Survive.

'Screw Yūra and his insane talk of fighting a Sannin and then also fighting the Namikaze. I gave it my best shot and we got annihilated. It was bad enough when it was just Tsunade and a giant slug. Trying to deal with a giant toad and a hundred of those vicious clones was suicide.'

Looking around Kankurō realized just how screwed Suna was. Almost everyone was dead including that optimistic moron Yūra. Tsunade had grabbed him by the arm, broke it and then lifted him in the air by it and smashed him into the ground with enough force to shatter his skull.

Kankurō fled the battlefield as the remaining Suna shinobi scattered. Konoha was not in a forgiving mood. Tsunade herself had stopped chasing, probably because she was their medic. But there were still a number of clones alive and dozens of Konoha shinobi bent on revenge. Bad blood had existed ever since the failed Oto/Suna invasion and many shinobi had thought Jiraiya was too magnanimous in his treatment of Sunagakure. Now with a second betrayal their blood was up.

Kankurō saw more than one Suna shinobi attempt to surrender only to be cut down. He couldn't really blame Konoha. There was still a battle raging on and taking prisoners would tie up resources. It did make his blood run cold as he worried he would be next.

A Naruto clone dashed toward him and in desperation Kankurō used chakra threads to throw debris and scattered weapons at him. The clone easily dodged the weapons and larger debris but one of the smaller pieces must have hit him as the clone dissipated.

'Fuck, that was too close.'

The puppet user knew the obvious place to flee was away from the battle all together. And that meant he would eventually be caught. Instead he decided to take a risky gamble and run _into_ Amegakure and try to slip away in the confusion at a later point. He was breathing heavily and his chakra reserves were nearly depleted. If Konoha found him he was a dead man.

'Give me some luck just this once. I've had to put up with my little brother's insanity and now my sister's own brand of self-destructive lunacy. Just a little luck.'

*****BREAK*****

The Naraka Path had just finished reviving the other four Paths of Pain.

Konan gasped in shock when Yahiko's body was summoned and then revived. That even Nagato's most powerful body would be defeated…

Sasori rasped, "It appears things are not going as well as hoped."

Pain spoke with Yahiko's body, "The Kyūbi is strong, as is the team led by Hatake and the other by Sarutobi. However none of them have faced all six Paths; here is where we will break them."

There was a pause for a moment.

"Deidara is dead."

Sasori didn't care overly much though it appeared Pain expected him to say something.

"I saw the explosion in the sky. He probably died happy to be causing another artistic moment." Sasori eventually said.

Pain continued, "We still have time before they arrive here."

With those words the four paths not needed for the summoning and revival of the other Paths of Pain went back into Amegakure. Their next target to test was Hatake's team.

**AN: **I'm curious how you guys think the fight scenes are going. I'm aware that it appears Konoha is kicking ass and taking names. You bet they are! Naruto is right now stronger than when canon Naruto fought Pain by a decent margin. He knows more jutsu, is faster, stronger and more intelligent. However he'll never get to the canon ridiculous extremes where his clones can appear in five separate battlefields and rip apart Kage level opponents.

Don't expect the good times to continue rolling though… Pain is at his strongest when he has all of his Paths together and he is collecting quite a bit of data on his various opponents. He also has a few strong Akatsuki with him.

Oh and what do you guys think should happen to our poor puppet user from Suna?


	65. Chapter 64: Akatsuki Part IV

**Chapter 64**

**AN:** Thank you for all of the reviews and support.

Special thanks to GJMEGA for his awesome beta support!

**Chapter 64:** Akatsuki Part IV

Naruto made it back to his team without any issues. Sakura looked at him with some worry.

"Naruto, what happened to your suit?"

"That repulsion jutsu packed a punch. Glad we don't need to deal with him again. Unfortunately it also drained nearly all of my fuinjutsu seals."

Kakashi pushed chakra into his arm and out popped a storage scroll. He tossed it over to his pupil who looked at it quizzically and then unsealed the item held in it.

A brand new fuinjutsu suit that matched Naruto's initial configuration.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Naruto questioned out loud. "Thanks Kakashi-sensei."

He graced Naruto with an eye smile and motioned for his team to move out. While they moved deeper into Amegakure Kakashi questioned him about the overall course of the battle. Naruto's clones were a font of information that Kakashi had sorely missed.

"We have taken significant casualties. Those bombs hurt as did Suna's betrayal. I'm sure they regret that now. Suna is completely routed and we once again have a secure medical base camp. Most of the Amegakure shinobi are down. There are still more out there but I'd say only about one fifth are left. We haven't seen any sign of Sasori, Nagato or Konan."

Hatake only took a moment to consider the situation.

"Naruto, make some more clones and inform all units save Asuma's team that they are to retreat back to base camp. Use your clones to flush out our quarry while we continue toward the center."

"Hai Kakashi-sensei."

Naruto created sixty clones and had them fan out looking for Konoha shinobi to pass on the word. He took a moment to change into his fully charged fuinjutsu suit and Team Seven moved out.

It wasn't long before one of his clones reported back a very rude surprise. The Yahiko character was somehow still alive.

'What the hell? That wasn't a clone and I'm sure I wasn't in a Genjutsu. How is he alive? Does he have a twin?'

Naruto briefly remembered going through the intelligence at one Orochimaru's bases that held information about twin shinobi who lived in each other's bodies. While theoretically possible he somehow doubted it. And then another clone dissipated. The mechanical shinobi was also alive again!

"Kakashi either they have some sort of super clone jutsu or they have some sort of ability to reanimate the dead. The guy who blocked my **"Futon: Sora Tonkachi"** (Wind Release: Sky Hammer) is back up as are a couple of other Akatsuki we faced today."

Kakashi processed the new information. Sasuke smirked, "You sure you killed him dobe?"

Naruto ignored the comment and continued thinking about how this was possible.

Kakashi made an intuitive leap, "It must be the Rinnegan. We have no idea about its powers but it isn't impossible for it to have some sort of power over life and death. It is strange that it wasn't used to bring back other Akatsuki like Kisame or Kakuzu though."

Sakura considered how to solve the problem of opponents who wouldn't stay dead.

"Maybe we should try to seal them? Disable their body and put it behind a powerful enough barrier and even if they come back to life they wouldn't be going anywhere."

"I say we burn them. Their bodies won't recover from Amaterasu no matter what strange powers the Akatsuki has." Sasuke sounded confident in his dōjutsu.

Kakashi looked at his team and then turned to Naruto, "Wait here and go into Sage Mode while we move on. Catch up to us and then lead us to Yahiko. I want you to keep your senses on him after he is defeated and see what happens with his chakra."

Naruto nodded and immediately created a few clones to watch over him and sat down in a meditative stance to gather natural energy. Kakashi led his team further into Amegakure. It turned out that they would not need Naruto's sage enhanced senses to find Yahiko since Pain had found them.

Sasuke grinned as he saw the man who had blasted his clones out of the sky. Naruto had been able to take him out and now it was his turn. His Sharingan saw three other Akatsuki members approach as well. They had only been travelling for a few minutes but as they were traveling at shinobi speeds it meant that they had covered quite a bit of ground. Naruto would gather the necessary natural energy very shortly and then would come support them.

However for shinobi a few minutes could be a lifetime.

*****BREAK*****

Asuma's team had encountered some light resistance as well as number of hidden bombs. It would have been slow going if it had not been for Neji's Byakugan. With their approach undeterred they were nearing the center of Amegakure and the tallest spire.

"There is a fuinjutsu barrier near the top of the building. I also see Akatsuki in front of it roughly fifty stories up." Neji informed the team.

Tenten let out a whistle.

"Yosh, we have found our enemy! Your eyes channel the burning flame of your youth!"

Asuma chuckled. "We'll scale the building by walking on the walls. With all the damned bombs I don't want to be indoors until we absolutely have to."

Climbing up the vertical side of a building wasn't any more difficult than climbing up a tree. For shinobi of their caliber it was trivial. All four of them were somewhat surprised to arrive at the apparently enemy headquarters before Kakashi's team. Granted they had also been tasked with keeping the skies clear, nonetheless it was still gratifying and at the same time, worrying.

*****BREAK*****

Pain saw the approaching Konoha shinobi through the eyes of the Naraka Path and the Animal Path. It had been surprising that Konoha had a second team that could challenge his power. Each of them had displayed abilities that made them splendid shinobi. The difference in what Konohagakure could product and the rest of the Hidden Villages was stark.

The Animal Path summoned the Giant Snake-Tailed Chameleon. It would be no defense against the Byakugan however it was critical that these two Paths survived. The Naraka Path was key to Pain's ability to continue fighting even after bodies were destroyed and the Animal Path allowed those bodies to be conveniently summoned to safety for rebirth. The Naraka Path stepped inside the Chameleon while the Animal Path stepped on its head. The great Chameleon attached himself to the side of the wall and blended in with its surroundings.

Pain ordered Sasori, "Do not take chances. Deal with them."

Sasori was inside his puppet Hiruko but that was no barrier to his chakra strings. He unsealed his favorite puppet of all. The Sandaime Kazekage. The spymaster of the Akatsuki knew the dangers of being overconfident when it came to the elite of Konohagakure. But he was still confident. His puppet wielded **Satetsu** (Iron Sand) and **Jiton** (Magnetic Release) to devastating effect. To this day it was still considered the most feared ability Sunagakure had ever created.

To his right and to his left were two of Orochimaru's former minions. Sasori was not impressed with either Guren or Kidomaru. Guren's **Shōton** (Crystal Release) was an interesting ability but he had seen better. Her physical abilities were lackluster. She was a jōnin but against the taijutsu speed demons that she would be facing he didn't give her a lengthy life expectancy.

Kidomaru had more physicality then Guren but lacked the offensive capabilities outside of his vicious brand of taijutsu that came with a few interesting tricks. Again nothing that the taijutsu masters of Konoha would be concerned with. Even more useless was the pair of Zetsu clones. The original wasn't considered a frontline fighter but he at least had some interesting **Mokuton** (Wood Release) abilities. These clones were trash.

The two Paths were intent on avoiding the fighting but the summoned creatures would no doubt help with the invaders. Sasori had a sneaking suspicion that he would be the deciding factor in the coming clash. His poisons were as lethal as ever. His favorite puppet was out and ready. And even if it failed him he had **Akahigi: Hyakki no Sōen** (Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets). Sasori was ready.

*****BREAK*****

Sakura began with her traditional kunai barrage. The four Paths were able to weather the storm easily enough but that had been expected. It also had given Kakashi time to create a few Mizu Bunshin and for Sasuke to dash out in front Sharingan eyes whirling.

Pain countered with missiles screeching toward the Uchiha. With his Sharingan eyes their projected paths were child's play to read and he dodged them easily, barely having to alter his course. Sasuke saw the buildup of chakra and knew he was about to be on the receiving end of the jutsu that had even been able to stop Naruto's **Futon: Sora Tonkachi** (Wind Release: Sky Hammer).

The Susanoo formed around him. A purple body was created first then it became armored as it braced itself for the coming attack.

**"****Shinra Tensei"** (All Mighty Push)

Pure force slammed into the ultimate Uchiha ability. The chakra construct's armor was shredded as the unrelenting power crashed through it. The 'flesh' of the Susanoo gave way as well leaving only the skeletal structure. But that was enough.

Sasuke felt a huge drain on his chakra after weathering the attack. He quickly reformed the Susanoo and armed it with a blade that attempted to slice Pain apart. Pain was able to dodge away from the purple blade and then was assaulted by a pair of Mizu Bunshin. He easily defeated them, turning them into puddles of water as he hastily avoided a second strike from Sasuke.

Kakashi wasn't idle in this time. He picked out one of the targets and blazed forward at top speed. A Chidori whirled in his hand and his opponent readied to absorb the chakra. At the last second Kakashi used the substitution jutsu to switch himself out with a piece of debris behind Pain and lashed out with his attack.

The Akatsuki member saw the attack coming thanks to the shared vision they had, however the speed and ruthless execution made even that bit of foreknowledge useless. The Chidori slammed into the Akatsuki's neck and killed him.

Sakura meanwhile tested her opponent's ability to fight off genjutsu. She clinically noted that some genjutsu seemed to utterly fail to confuse her opponent and they would be dispelled almost instantly. While other genjutsu seemed to stick for several critical seconds before her opponents realized what was happening.

She had used primarily C ranked genjutsu in rapid succession on all of her opponents.

'This doesn't make sense. In one instance I was able to stick the second genjutsu on the mechanical one even though he should have already been expecting it after successfully dispelling the first one. I wasn't expecting it to work, just testing how quickly he could dispel it, but he shows no signs of coming out of it.'

The instant she had that thought the chakra she had used to invade her opponent's nervous system was flushed out. Konoha's genjutsu mistress wasn't sure what to make of it and now had other worries to concern herself with as one of the Akatsuki member's was menacing her with a chakra rod.

Sakura focused on evading as her strong and fast opponent sought to kill her. She took a half-step back and then lunged forward. Her kunai pushed the chakra rod away as she sprang forward knee first. At the same time she pushed chakra into the fuinjutsu seal of the knee causing a blast of point blank kunai to come screaming out of the suit right as her knee impacted Pain's body.

The Human Path would normally have been fine with even a powerful knee to the stomach but not when half a dozen kunai perforated his guts. Before he 'died' he was able to use his free arm to viciously backhand the triumphant Sakura. Her mask cracked and her neck twisted painfully to the side.

'Ouch. Got too focused on my fuinjutsu trick and let my guard down.'

The mask was useless now and she removed it. Her cheek and neck ached quite a bit but she could still fight. She turned her attention back to the battle. Now there were only two Akatsuki left to deal with. The mechanical one and the Akatsuki who could produce those deadly blasts that had almost overcome Sasuke's trump jutsu.

Nagato was impressed by the Susanoo. He had never met an ability that could stop **Shinra Tensei** (All Mighty Push). Already two of his other paths had been defeated and that was concerning. He decided to change tactics. He dodged another giant purple blade and was now in between the two Sharingan wielders.

**"****Shinra Tensei"** (All Mighty Push)

The jutsu exploded out from each of his palms that were facing both of his opponents. The powerful chakra slammed into the Susanoo and once more failed to pierce it. Pain was irritated to see Kakashi was also unharmed as he had substituted himself with one of his Mizu Bunshin that was behind the Susanoo.

Kakashi let Sasuke focus on the more dangerous Akatsuki while he dismembered the mechanical one. He wasn't quite sure how much damage it would take to actually kill it. He wanted to avoid that in order to test the sealing strategy. After cutting through both arms Sakura came to the fore and slapped a sealing array on the Akatsuki.

Bands of chakra leapt from the kanji on the sealing paper and enveloped their mechanized opponent. Sakura tossed a few of her specially made kunai and enacted a secondary barrier over her downed foe.

Nagato was rather shocked at the tactic. He wasn't a fuinjutsu master but his sensei was Jiraiya so he had a passing familiarity. The seals would prevent space/time jutsu from functioning such as the **Kuchiyose no Jutsu **(Summoning Jutsu). It would take time to implant chakra rods in a new body and an even longer time to become fully proficient with its use. He didn't want to lose one of his paths at this point considering how little damage he had caused to Kakashi's team.

**"****Shinra Tensei"** (All Mighty Push)

Instead of aiming at any of his opponents he aimed for the Asura Path. His jutsu collided with the barrier fuinjutsu and blasted through it. It did soften much of the force behind the attack. His jutsu continued and slammed into the paper kanji and ripped them to shreds removing the fuinjutsu trap. Already damaged the body was also destroyed but that was acceptable.

Sakura was incensed that her barrier jutsu had failed to stop the attack. In response she hit the Akatsuki with her most advanced genjutsu. **Kokuangyo no Jutsu** (Infinite Darkness Technique) was one of Konoha's most advanced genjutsu. It was created before the founding of the village. It trapped an opponent in a world of pure darkness and it was particularly hard to dispel using traditional methods. The foreign chakra in someone's chakra network was typically easy to disrupt however this genjutsu made the chakra 'sticky' and nearly impossible to dissipate. Unlike other genjutsu this one did require a constant drain of chakra on the user while the victim was affected.

Sasuke's Sharingan eyes saw the genjutsu form and he instantly struck out with his Susanoo. The blade dissipated and was replaced by a bow that shot an arrow that swiftly struck the dangerous Akatsuki through the chest.

The three shinobi of Konohagakure looked around for additional threats and found none. They also noticed puffs of smoke around the bodies of the other Akatsuki opponents that had been killed. When the smoke dissipated they were no longer there.

Kakashi looked at Sakura, "The sealing strategy is a good one. It obviously panicked our opponent. Do you have enough prepared to do that multiple times?"

Sakura laughed. When it came to fuinjutsu she was always prepared. She couldn't take full credit however. Having hundreds of clones as 'slave labor' meant she had dozens of all sorts of fuinjutsu scrolls, seals, kunai and tricks at her disposal.

Naruto had just finished gathering senjutsu chakra and had rushed to the fighting. His Sage senses let him know that everyone was fine though he did scope out Sakura's bruised face and asked what happened.

Kakashi interrupted, "No time. Whatever is bringing these Akatsuki back to life is probably going to do so again. I need you to locate them and reach out with your senjutsu enhanced senses."

"Hai, give me just a moment."

Naruto closed his eyes and meditated for a few seconds. He concentrated on the chakra signatures he had felt and then had an epiphany. The chakra between several of the Akatsuki members was virtually identical. The chakra pathways were different but the chakra was the same! And it was concentrated artificially around those rods that stuck out of their bodies.

His eyes snapped open. "They are the same person. All of the ones that are coming back to life are already dead. He's just bringing back their bodies. The chakra rods are being used to control the corpses and restart their chakra network. The original is behind a fuinjutsu barrier near the top of that building." He finished by pointing to the largest high rise building in Amegakure.

Naruto frowned. "And we better get there quick because Asuma's team is fighting there right now!"

Kakashi signaled and they moved out. His team had done well though they were slowly being drained of resources. His own chakra was good as he had been cautious to conserve it relying on Chidori over Raikiri and Mizu Bunshin over Kage Bunshin. Sasuke however was clearly winded after having taken two of those chakra blasts and having to reform his Susanoo. The boy kept a stoic appearance but Kakashi could see chakra and he knew Sasuke had used over half of his. Naruto was down to one clone with senjutsu energy and had pushed himself hard using his normal chakra reserves. Thankfully his stamina made sure he was in better shape than Sasuke. Sakura had suffered a minor wound. He could tell that her neck muscle had been strained by the blow and that she was in a bit of pain as they moved.

'It is important to the success of the mission to get to that tower. But on a personal note I'd like to see Gai's student's survive this.'

*****BREAK*****

Kankurō made his way deeper into Amegakure. He knew this was risky. If Konohagakure forces found him there was little he could do now that his puppets were destroyed. Sure he could probably handle a single chūnin**. **He wasn't _that_ weak. However his puppets were what made him so deadly and with them all gone he felt distinctly vulnerable.

He moved past a score of shinobi corpses. They were all Amegakure nin. Not a single Konoha shinobi among them. Looking at the bodies he saw all of them were killed by slashes from a blade.

'Namikaze's clones. That guy is a one man army. He defended their medical corps, took out the aerial support and took out groups like these probably all over Amegakure.'

For the hundredth time he cursed Baki and Temari for being idiots. Fight against something like that? Ha, the Suna shinobi never stood a chance.

Kankurō stopped to listen and heard the sounds of fighting coming from closer to the center of the city. He would avoid that area like the plague. He continued his journey through Amegakure hoping that no one would spot him.

*****BREAK*****

Iruka sighed in relief as the pain left his body after Tsunade finished using her healing abilities on him. He was ready and fit for combat however Tsunade informed him that his squad wasn't to advance back into Amegakure.

Naruto clones had issued the orders for all but Kakashi's squad and Asuma's squad to retreat back to base camp. The Konoha shinobi were battered and had taken extensive casualties but Iruka still wanted to help.

"Orders are orders Iruka. They have S ranked shinobi that have devastating attacks. Let those teams handle it while you wait here and make sure the Akatsuki don't have more surprises in store for us."

Iruka wasn't about to go against Kakashi or one of the Sannin. His thoughts were on Naruto. The kid, no the man, was amazing but everyone had limits. He wished he had taken the time to tell Naruto that he would be his child's Godfather before the battle began. Thinking of that made him think of his wife and how grateful he was that she wasn't here in this war torn city!

**AN:** Been having trouble staying motivated with my writing. Lately I just feel like plopping down and vegging. I blame work! Next chapter we'll see how team Asuma is doing.


	66. Chapter 65: Akatsuki Part V

**AN: **Hmm, don't feel this is my best work but I'd like to move on back to Team Seven so I'm not going to agonize over it endlessly.

Special thanks to GJMEGA for his awesome beta work!

**Chapter 65:** Akatsuki Part V

As soon as Asuma's team finished scaling the wall they came under immediate attack.

Sasori launched scores of poisoned senbon and Kidomaru immediately began firing arrows. The needles were blasted away by Asuma's **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) however the arrow fired by Kidomaru was not so easily deflected. It came screaming forward at vicious speed and Neji had to contort his body away from the arrow as it streaked past.

Tenten tossed a few scrolls in the air that vomited out kunai and senbon at her opponents. Guren shielded herself with a wall of crystals. One of the Zetsu clones was nicked and Sasori's armored shell was too strong to be broken by something like flying metal.

Neji shouted to his companions. "There is a cloaked creature with an Akatsuki atop it and another inside its mouth."

Sasori used the Kazekage puppet to fire **Satetsu Shigure** (Iron Sand Drizzle). Asuma knew this was not like the earlier needle attack, this was a potent A ranked jutsu that fired deadly projectiles nearly impossible to see let alone dodge.

Asuma only had time to shout out a brief warning, thankfully he had trained with Neji for some time and the two acted in concert with each other. Neji used Kaiten which was a powerful enough defensive move to shield them from the attack. Not even Kidomaru's arrows could pierce the Hyūga's defense. Tenten and Asuma put themselves behind Neji and weathered the storm while Lee burst into the **Seimon** (Gate of Life) and leapt away from the deadly magnetically propelled projectiles.

Pain was not idle and had just finished summoning a giant panda who roared and charged on all fours toward the Konoha shinobi. Guren attempted to trap the speedy green blur in a crystal but her jutsu took too long to form and was unable to match his speed.

When the iron projectiles ceased their assault Asuma dashed out from behind Neji and used **Futon: Uchikubi Retupuu** (Wind Release: Wind Decapitation). The razor sharp blade of air was aimed straight for Sasori. The attack could rip through his puppet armor and years of experience told Sasori as much. In an instant he had reformed the iron sand into a shield that blocked the Sarutobi's attack.

Tenten meanwhile unsealed a javelin and threw it at Kidomaru who dodged away from the projectile only for it to explode out in all directions thanks to high level fuinjutsu explosive seals. Within those seals were also bits of burning shrapnel that ripped into Kidomaru despise the tougher skin he had due to the cursed seal. He swore and cradled one of his wounded limbs and stepped away from the fight.

The panda that had been summoned charged straight forward and met its match in Konoha's taijutsu master. His already incredible speed and strength was further enhanced by the Hachimon allowing him to more than quintuple his already overpowering strength. His kick slammed into the panda and obliterated the creature in one blow.

Neji made a beeline for the two Akatsuki who were attempting to hide. One of the Zetsu clones delayed him for a few seconds before being pasted by his intense taijutsu barrage. However that did leave time for Sasori to complete his **Satetsu Kaihō** (Sand Iron: World Method). Iron branch spikes split and multiplied in all directions. Everyone on the field could see the poison dripping from the iron and knew to avoid it at any cost.

Neji once more relied on Kaiten to drive the iron away. In a circle around him the iron scratched and plunged at him but was unable to pierce his formidable defense. Asuma had to dance one way and then the other using his Futon enhanced kunai to slash apart branches that couldn't be avoided. Tenten used Kawarimi to distance herself to the edge of the building as far away as possible. Lee dived in through the deadly iron maze and with his speed managed to outrun it and then close in on Sasori.

Meanwhile Guren had to put up a wall of crystal to stop Sasori's attacks from killing her. She knew she had been a favorite of Orochimaru and at one point had been a candidate as a host body. But the speed and power that was being displayed here showed her why the snake Sannin had hesitated. It was unsettling to realize how out of her league she was.

Sasori fired more senbon out of his puppet's mouth at Lee who evaded them with contemptuous ease. His speed prior to using the gates was at Sasuke's level which meant that while using the gates he was nearly untouchable by any sort of projectile. Sasori brought his massive tail around to guard against Lee's sudden assault but that too was avoided. Lee let loose with a crushing punch to the center of his puppet and his Hiruko puppet was shattered to pieces. Sasori's puppet body sailed away from his lost puppet and allowed himself to land in the middle of the iron branches which would prevent his green clad foe from pursuing.

He had to step quickly though as Asuma fired one of his chakra channeling kunai and it took all of the S class shinobi's reflexes to dodge while simultaneously manipulating the chakra strings to use **Satetsu** **Kesshū** (Iron Sand: Gathering Assault) to form a massive hammer of iron sand in an attempt to crush the Hyūga.

Neji was surrounded by iron branches dripping with poison and had little choice but to use Kaiten again. His constant use of the powerful defensive technique was swiftly draining his chakra reserves. The hammer of iron sand was rebuffed and flew away only to reform and strike down again.

Guren rose up to the top of the crystal wall she had formed and launched dozens of crystal shuriken at her foes. Lee was distressed to see his friend and rival trapped by the puppet's attack but was at a brief loss as to what to do. While he thought he dodged the crystal projectiles.

A new monster made its appearance as the Animal Path summoned a gigantic ox. Lee grinned at the sudden solution to his problems and opened up **Shōmon** (Gate of Pain). He allowed the ox to charge and then blitzed to the side and struck it with a spinning back kick that had enough force to smash the Hokage monument. His blow slammed the ox directly toward the puppet master. The sheer mass of the beast smashed through the iron spike forest that had been created and Sasori had to quickly dodge out of the way. However now he was in the open.

Tenten, seeing what was happening, fired another one of her explosive javelins, not at Sasori but where Sasori would be landing.

The human puppet cocooned himself with the Iron Sand of the Kazekage puppet right as the javelin exploded. The puppet was jostled significantly but the barrier protected him from what could have been a lethal blow. The puppet was sturdier than a human but those exploding javelins packed a punch.

Asuma cut through the maze of iron and went at Sasori with a vengeance. His perfectly honed body dodged the dangerous abilities of the Kazekage puppet while his chakra blades sliced through chakra strings. He couldn't see the strings but he could figure out by deduction how they were attached. Sasori had to quickly create new strings and reattach them before having his best puppet cut off from him.

The Byakugan allowed Neji to see the Giant Snake-Tailed Chameleon. He raced toward the opponents in Akatsuki robes who were summoning the massive, if ineffective, gigantic animals. The Chameleon walked along the wall further upward while Neji pursued.

Sasori looked at the battlefield in disgust. His allies were doing little and he had to deal with Sarutobi and the green clad taijutsu master. It was time for his ultimate technique.

**Akahigi: Hyakki no Sōen** (Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets).

Sasori re-sealed his favorite puppet and then unleashed at one time the hundred puppets. Unlike other puppet users who could typically control two or three he could fight with a hundred at the same time. His artificial fingers danced as he sent the puppets charging at three of his opponents. He would allow leader-sama to deal with the one pursuer.

Nagato was viewing the battle from the multiple paths. Right as Neji was assaulting the two most critical paths of Pain the others were being defeated by Hatake's team. As Neji drew close the Animal Path summoned the body of the Deva Path, the body Yahiko. The Chameleon suddenly reversed directions and took a flying leap off the vertical incline it had been scaling and back down to the battlefield.

Neji cursed his lack of ranged techniques and raced back down, still shadowing his prey. He shouted out a warning of the oncoming invisible danger. He looked below and saw dozens of puppets being mauled to pieces by his comrades. While Sasori was an unrivaled genius at puppetry his opponents were geniuses of their own. Lee could dance around the puppets even without the Hachimon but with it they were blown apart by his rapid delivery of forceful punches that could shatter rock.

Asuma's trench knives cut through strings, wood and weapons with equal ease.

The descent time gave the Naraka Path enough time to summon the King of Hell and revive the Asura Path. The Chameleon landed and Neji narrowed his eyes as he saw the additional opponent emerge out of the chakra construct before him. He saw the chakra gather in the new arrival's palms and was shocked at its potency. Realizing time was of the essence Neji quickly used Kaiten as the Asura Path used **Shinra Tensei** (All Mighty Push).

Kaiten may have been the ultimate defense of the Hyūga but against the power of the Rinnegan it was swept away. The blast wave struck Neji in rotation and collapsed his jutsu with concussive force. It lessoned the blow but the collision of the two forces ripped apart the fuinjutsu protections and snapped Neji's left arm. The unspent force continued to drive Neji back and off of the building. It drove him back a hundred meters and slammed him through the side of another building.

Tenten screamed as she saw Neji blown back by the vicious power of **Shinra Tensei** (All Mighty Push). She threw a kunai wrapped in ninja wire and watched as it slammed into the building. She tested the weight briefly and then swung across the gap between the buildings and rushed over to Neji's unmoving form.

*****BREAK*****

Team Seven ran on at top speed. Naruto guided them around the paper bomb traps that littered the area as they grew closer to the center of Amegakure. Naruto strained his senjutsu senses as far as he could to try to somewhat monitor the battle. His concern spiked when he felt the revival of the one who could fire off jutsu more powerful than **Futon: Sora Tonkachi** (Wind Release: Sky Hammer).

"We have to hurry." He admonished his team.

Kakashi signaled him to go on ahead. He didn't like splitting the group but no one of them could rival Naruto's speed when he was in Sage mode.

The ground blew apart as Naruto deliberately smashed chakra into his feet giving his team a safe path around traps to follow. The Sharingan could do the same but it was a drain on chakra while it would only shave maybe a second off of Naruto's sage time to crater the ground around him.

'Hold on guys!'

*****BREAK*****

Lee redoubled his efforts to slaughter the puppets in his way when he saw Neji go flying. His strikes blew them apart as he rushed toward the un-youthful opponent who may have just killed his friend. Asuma hissed in frustration as he saw half of his team taken out of the fight. He couldn't blame the girl – it was obvious she had feelings for the Hyūga. If it was Kurenai who may be dead he would have done the same thing.

The Animal Path summoned the Asura path and repeated the process that was done with the Deva Path.

The green clad Hachimon enhanced opponent blazed forward and the Deva Path moved to intercept. Nagato had not anticipated this opponent to be so difficult. He had the power of a God and he continued to fight foe after foe that could match or beat him. His opponents speed outmatched his currently and only the powerful body of Yahiko enhanced with the Rinnegan kept him from being defeated.

He matched blow for blow against the green beast who went through a repertoire of taijutsu moves that left Nagato dazed. Every move was perfect and every move had the potential to be deadly as he dodged and countered blows by a hairs breadth. Even pushing out a pair of chakra rods did nothing to even the fight.

Lee saw another Akatsuki member summoned and revived and knew he had to move quickly to defeat his foe. Already pushing near his limit he gave a mighty cry and opened **Tomon** (Gate of Limit). The additional speed and power now had Nagato completely on the defensive. He knew that he wouldn't have time to use **Shinra Tensei** (All Mighty Push). So instead he used his power to pull Lee off balance. Lee was swept off his feet and hurtled toward the jagged chakra rod aimed at his chest.

Gai's protégé delivered a perfect rising block that shoved the chakra rod out of the way. With a midair twist he sent a spinning reverse kick that Pain's arm was able to block but only at the cost of it shattering. Nagato's gambit failed but already the Asura Path was firing a slew of missiles at Lee. Lee at this point was off balance and still flying forward from the Rinnegan's initial pull. The missiles impacted him but the fuinjutsu suit prevented them from doing any significant damage, however several of the seals sizzled away from absorbing the blows.

As Lee recovered and charged back toward the Paths of Pain the Human Path was being revived as well. Lee knew he couldn't keep up the Hachimon indefinitely and the odds continued to grow worse and worse.

Asuma was thoroughly impressed with Lee's power. He was one of the fastest shinobi alive before using the eight gates and after he used it… well he knew he would be toast if Lee ever went after him with the gates open. Right now though they were dealing with a foe who continued to bring more reinforcements back to life and that needed to be finished.

However in between him and those strange Akatsuki there were the remnants of Sasori's puppet army. There were only about a dozen left but now they moved more swiftly as their limbs were pushed and pulled faster than muscle would allow as the puppet master had fewer puppets to split his attention on.

Asuma was nearly cut by a sickle. His suit would probably protect him from one blow but if he was scratched he was done for. Sasori was known for his highly lethal poison. He spun away from another puppet and lashed out with trench knives snapping chakra threads and driving back the agile puppets.

He drove onward toward Sasori himself. The weakness of a puppet master was their vulnerability to close combat. He poured on the speed as he dodged and slashed inexorably onward. Soon enough he was on top of the Akatsuki. The man who had made himself into a puppet was not like others who chose that shinobi path. His body was equipped with blades and they slashed at Asuma as his puppets descended into a tight ring around the bearded shinobi.

Asuma grinned as blades attack from all sides.

**"****Futon: Tasumaki Supin!"** (Wind Release: Tornado Spin)

Naruto wasn't the only one who had created a new wind powered jutsu. Unlike** Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) which sent wind flying in all directions his new jutsu sent miniature tornados in a 360 degree arc. In all directions tiny blasts of air swirled and struck with slashing force. It was a purely short range jutsu as it only extended 10 feet before the hyper dense chakra petered out, but in this situation it was all that was needed.

The razor sharp tornados cut through the puppets like a scythe through wheat. More important in Asuma's eyes was that they cut into Sasori as well. The ex-Suna shinobi had thought he was leading Asuma into a trap but in reality it was Sarutobi's trap. Sasori's body was shorn into pieces as the cutting wind sliced through his body and into the heart that powered his essence.

Asuma fell to one knee after using so much chakra. It was a technique that would probably be better suited for someone like Naruto but it had done the trick.

*****BREAK*****

Konan had watched the battle from a nearby building, Nagato having ordered her away. The only reason she had acquiesced was because Nagato was still within the barrier Sasori had erected. The Angel of Amegakure was concerned as the battle continued. Guren and Kidomaru were out of their league in a battle such as this. The Zetsu clones had barely slowed the Hyūga. Sasori was showing the difference in caliber between an A ranked shinobi and an S ranked one.

She took no joy in seeing the Konoha shinobi being hurled back by **Shinra Tensei** (All Mighty Push). Seeing the kunoichi run after him reminded her of what had happened to brave Yahiko. It was with great melancholy that she rose up on her paper wings to ensure the girl and the Hyūga would not return to the fight.

*****BREAK*****

Lee could not afford to wait any longer. Even with the massive boost in speed and power he wasn't able to get through to attack the nearly invisible user of this strange reanimation jutsu. His body was shaking with the strain of the Hachimon and he was going to take it one step further.

He tapped into his inner reserves and unlocked the gate at his stomach. **Keimon** (Gate of Joy) provided a massive boost of power to the green clad shinobi. The fuinjutsu seals shone brightly and then dissipated from the massive power surge from the inside out. The rubble around Lee was pushed back by the radiating waves of power.

He sprang forward as Nagato tried to use **Shinra Tensei** (All Mighty Push). Such was Lee's speed that he was behind Nagato before the massive chakra wave could be fired. Lee stiffened his fingers and jabbed them straight into Pain's back. Pain had Rinnegan blessed reflexes that allowed him to partially turn away from the blow as it struck. But that only meant that instead of Lee's fingers bursting through his chest cavity his strike turned his shoulder to paste.

The other Paths of Pain converged on Lee and he demolished the mechanical Pain in less than a second. The Human Path lasted on a little longer as the taijutsu mastered shattered ribs with a kick and before the Path could travel more than a foot took an elbow across the side of the face. Body moving one direction and head going toward the other meant a snapped neck.

Lee darted forward striking to where he thought the Chameleon was. He was correct and his punch pulped the creatures face. However, the two Paths of Pain had seen the likely attack coming and were already using Kawarimi to the maximum range they could. Lee spent a few precious seconds attempting to locate the two, he spotted them higher up on the building nearing the very top of it.

Lee's feet moved like lightning as the walls of the tall building crumbled beneath him. He was far, far faster than his opponents. It would only take another second to overtake the two fleeing Akatsuki when part of the building broke off taking him with it. Only he wasn't falling down he was falling horizontally with parts of the building. He looked down and saw the one who sent Neji through a building holding his hand up.

Lee had no idea how to fight this ability; he simply couldn't push off of anything in the middle of the air. And then the rocks and debris came from all directions. Lee was a whirlwind of punches and kicks smashing away the projectiles but they continued to clump around him. Despite his super human efforts some got through and crashed into him further impeding his movements. Hundreds of pounds of rock, pipe, rubble and iron and slammed into him covering him completely.

Nagato rasped, "I've had enough of you."

He balled his hands into a fist as more and more parts of the building flew up creating a larger and larger ball of debris. There wasn't a single piece of green showing when he was finished.

Asuma had just finished Sasori when he saw Lee's peril. His own reserves low he tossed one of his prized trench knives at the Akatsuki with a generous helping of wind natured chakra. Even though he was looking up at Lee he somehow saw the blade racing toward him and deflected it away. The momentary lapse in concentration was enough for Nagato to lose control. He had pushed his immense chakra reserves further than he had in over a decade. The repeated use of **Shinra Tensei** (All Mighty Push), the summoning, the resurrections and the fighting had taken its toll. The rocks broke apart and a bloodied, battered and gasping Lee pushed off one of the rocks and landed on the landing next to Asuma.

Lee grit his teeth with determination but felt his body fail out from under him. The power of the Hachimon faded and the massive muscle tearing combined with the broken bones and bruised flesh from Pain's latest attack left him with nothing. He collapsed, conscious but useless, to the ground.

*****BREAK*****

Tenten wasn't a medical nin but she knew basic first aid. Neji was unconscious and a quick examination showed a multitude of cuts and a damaged spine.

"Oh Neji…"

Wounds to the spine were difficult to heal even for medical nin like Tsunade or Hana. She wasn't sure what to do. Moving him would be dangerous and it would also take her away from the fight. She didn't want to abandon Lee either.

She didn't have to make the painful choice as she saw an Akatsuki come flying in on wings made of paper.

Konan looked down at her. "I see the look in your eyes. I am sorry."

Her wings of paper flexed and then dozens of small sheets of paper with a razor edge were sent flying toward the downed Hyūga. Tenten reacted instantly and used her fuinjutsu suits seals to hurl a swarm of weapons to intercept the thin projectiles. After taking care of those projectiles she opened a kunai scroll and two score of the weapons flashed through the air.

Konan dodged to the side and created a pair of **Kami Bunshin** (Paper Clone). Two of them swooped down at Tenten while the real one observed and summoned more paper to her side.

Tenten unsealed a yari and stabbed out at the descending clones. To her surprise her spear met little resistance as it punctured the chest of her first target. Her eyes widened in realization, the clone wasn't just made of paper it was made of paper bombs. The explosion blasted her back into the side of the building. She coughed up blood and quickly performed a Kawarimi to the opposite side of the room as more of the paper bombs detonated the spot she had just vacated.

The Konoha shinobi gasped in horror as Neji's body flopped over from the explosion. She raced to his side and used one of the techniques she had learned from Sakura.

**"****Kekkai: Yon Koatari!"** (Barrier Art: Four Parts)

The fuinjutsu barrier surrounded her and Neji. Konan began sending small waves of paper bombs to detonate against the barrier.

"Impressive, but it will not last long."

Tenten knew that to be true. While the barrier was solid it couldn't withstand continuous explosions for more than a few minutes. She couldn't Kawarimi out of the barrier. She took stock of her resources. Her suit had allowed her to weather the explosion. She had some minor burns on her abdomen that weren't dangerous. Most of the rest of the fuinjutsu seals had been burned off. She had several scrolls full of weaponry, a few of gas and a specialized kunai scroll with 40 explosive tags.

As the paper bombs continued to explode against the barrier Tenten desperately thought about how she could get out of the situation with Neji intact. Fighting down a wave of hopelessness she considered every option to her. The difficulty lay in keeping Neji safe while she fought the strange Akatsuki with paper wings.

Konan's amber eyes betrayed no emotion as the explosions tore down the defensive barrier. She knew the horror of war. Scenes like this should not exist, but they would continue to exist unless Nagato's dream was made a reality.

**AN: **Writing about the Hachimon is always interesting. I constantly feel the need to justify myself when I use it but I really do feel I'm portraying its strength appropriately from the source material. The first gate (just the first one) literally quintuples the power of its user. And considering Lee was already a taijutsu beast without the added boost I feel he is fully capable of taking on the Asura Path while using the higher tiered gates. However at this point he's done and is useless for the rest of the fight, it's a trump card but one with some serious drawbacks.


	67. Chapter 66: Akatsuki Final

**AN:** Apologies again for the length of time between updates. I appreciate everyone's encouragement! I've recently started a new story in an attempt to get my mojo back. It didn't really work but hopefully you'll find it an entertaining diversion.

Special thanks to GJMEGA for his amazing beta work!

**Chapter 66:** Akatsuki Final

Naruto neared the fighting. He could clearly sense the fight had split into two separate areas. Asuma and Lee were facing off against most of them while Neji and Tenten were against one in a building over. With his enhanced senses he realized both pairs were in serious trouble.

He couldn't form clones in senjutsu mode which meant he couldn't save both pairs. That was intolerable for him and as he drew within sight he released the natural energy. Now he could create scores of Kage Bunshin and he did so with great relish. Half of the mob went toward Tenten and Neji while the other half went towards Asuma and Lee.

Konan's rain of explosions was interrupted by blast after blast of wind. The clones pushed the paper bombs, paper clones and Konan herself back. Konan flared her wings but she couldn't stay stable against the force of repeated **Futon: Daitoppa** (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) waves. She was blown clear of the building and did not return.

Tenten saw Naruto arrive and took down her fuinjutsu barrier.

The real Naruto looked down and saw Neji in bad shape. "He needs to get to Tsunade fast."

Tenten could only nod. Naruto pulled on the toxic chakra of the nine tailed fox. Before disappearing in an orange flash he slapped a symbol onto the ground. His technique was highly chakra intensive and it took a couple of seconds to flip through the necessary hand seals however once complete he reappeared at base camp with Neji.

"Tsunade, he has spinal damage and needs your help now!"

Iruka jerked in surprise at seeing Naruto there. He wasn't there long before Naruto disappeared in an orange blur again.

While the original was seeking medical aid for his comrade dozens of clones jumped in front of Asuma and Lee. Lee was in bad shape and Asuma was nearly out of chakra. Pain wasn't fairing much better but without Sage mode it would be difficult for Naruto to finish him. Luckily the Akatsuki leader was in the mood to talk.

"Why do you fight so hard Namikaze? You cannot win; you are merely delaying the inevitable."

One of the Naruto clones stepped forward.

"I am fighting for my village and my comrades. Your organization attacked us first and you want to kill me personally and take the fox. Of course we would fight you."

Pain looked at the young warrior and shook his head.

"This world has suffered long enough. I will bring an end to the pain of war."

The clone laughed. "Really? You seem to have done a wonderful job so far."

"Do not mock what you cannot understand! The shinobi lifestyle requires war. Thousands are orphaned and starve. You would prop up this flawed system in perpetuity."

The clone shrugged. "You've not convinced me that's what you're even trying to accomplish. And even if you could convince me – it doesn't matter."

Pain narrowed his eyes, "It doesn't matter?"

"Of course not. I serve my village and the Hokage. You should have tried to convince Jiraiya-sama instead of murdering Konoha shinobi. Just like Iwa and eventually Kumo you'll regret crossing paths with us. We don't like war but we won't sit idly by while you attack us."

"And so the cycle of hatred continues."

Asuma jumped in, "You're damned right it does. Your people killed Kurenai and I'll never forgive you for it!"

"Sacrifices must be made. This is bigger than petty grudges and lost comrades."

Naruto was quite tempted to go after him right then and there. Holding back provided a tactical advantage however and that meant he would quite happily stall the Akatsuki.

"It isn't a petty grudge to Asuma. He lost the love of his life and that doesn't bother you."

Pain slashed his arm through the air. "You are short sighted! Do you think I have never lost anyone? But I will make it so their deaths were not in vain. I will end the shinobi way of life and bring lasting peace."

The clone shook his head. "How? Gathering all of the tailed beasts will make you powerful but not invincible."

As the two sides continued to argue their perspective both refused to make the first move. It didn't provide a benefit to Konoha since Team Seven operated best when they were united. And it didn't benefit Nagato because… he had realized his limitations.

*****BREAK*****

Nagato looked at Madara. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this. He didn't trust anyone else to see his long labors to fruition but he didn't have a choice. With Sasori dead his barrier would soon fall. His massive reserves were almost fully depleted through the efforts of repeated summoning, fighting and reviving the fallen Paths.

"I will attempt to revive your true body. It will be my final act in this war."

Obito would see the resurrection of the man who had put him on this path. The man who had saved his life all of those years ago. It wasn't a reunion he was looking forward to. He didn't fully trust the ancient Uchiha. At this point though he didn't know what else to do. Kakashi's team was just so monstrous. Even the Rinnegan had not been enough to stop the S class team.

"Good. I look forward to greeting my true self."

He had lied to Nagato for years. It had been necessary, he had to both be Madara and not be Madara for this step of the plan to work. Obito had settled on the idea that he was a part of Madara's will made flesh but lacking in true power. The tortured soul had believed him fully and there was no reason to muddy the waters and bring in doubt at this critical juncture.

It was time to bring back to life one of the most powerful shinobi of all time.

Power flared and Nagato felt every cell in his body strain under the pressure of bringing back a legend. It would cost him his life but if it meant furthering Yahiko's dream of peace... it would be worth it.

*****BREAK*****

Kankurō had continued with his plan of running toward the least likely location a fleeing shinobi would go. Instead of attempting to leave the city he had gone deeper into it. He was going to cross through the center of the city. It was possible that the Ame shinobi might still be holding on to it.

His eyes bulged when he saw in the distance what was going on. Explosions riddled the area, he saw the legendary **Satetsu** (Iron Sand) of a long dead Kazekage be unleashed. He felt the pressure of someone unleashing the Hachimon and the arrival of hundreds of Naruto clones.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. I have to get out of here!'

He did not want to be anywhere near _any _Konoha shinobi let alone their most lethal weapons! Going back seemed insane but pressing forward meant risking running into one of those clones.

'Now they are just standing around talking! Fight you bastards so I can get the hell out of here!'

*****BREAK*****

Night was falling and Konoha had already sent out a dozen squads racing toward the capital of Hi no Kuni. Fuyu's plan was working as intended. She had split the remaining members of the Kinkaku force into three teams. One would go after the Hokage. That one was probably least likely to succeed since the toad sage was formidable and would have the elite ANBU around him. The second target was the Nara clan head. He was the strategic mastermind that had thwarted so many of their plans. And finally the last target was Danzō. Somehow the old man had beaten nearly impossible odds in the defense of the capital. The death of over a thousand Kumo shinobi was on his hands and she wished that team every success.

Fuyu was alone in her part. Despite being the leader and arguably one of the deadliest on the team her sole role was to create a distraction. Her distraction would be the murder of Anko Mitarashi. The snake mistress of Konoha wouldn't go down quietly. She may even summon a few of her massive snakes.

Fuyu was counting on it. Nothing in her own arsenal would make a commotion like a giant snake being summoned in the middle of the village. But snake or no Fuyu would kill her; she would avenge her brother's shame and torture.

Learning that Mitarashi was pregnant had not deterred her in the slightest. No, in fact it pleased her. She hoped that it made death all the more fearful for the bitch.

The assassin carefully slipped closer to Anko's place of residence. There were seals on the walls of the home but that wasn't unsuspected. Haruno had been a busy girl and had hardened the village's defenses quite considerably with her new fuinjutsu seals. Those seals would keep a home safe from direct elemental jutsu but not from someone with Fuyu's skills.

She quivered with anticipation. It took an effort to dull the shaking. Tonight would be the culmination of her life's work for the village. The possibility of escaping after the attack would be nonexistent. Fuyu didn't fear death though she did not embrace it. As she picked the lock on the door and ghosted into her prey's home she drew her blades.

It was time.

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi had nearly reached his destination. The sounds of fighting had dimmed. He doubted Naruto was in trouble but nonetheless he revealed his Sharingan eye. Sure enough he was able to see vast number of chakra signatures that were Naruto's clones.

'Good, Naruto managed to stall the enemy.'

Kakashi lead the formation with Sasuke and Sakura behind him. They were halfway up the building when chakra flared powerfully from inside the tower and its flash partially occluded his eye.

Hatake could sense something monumental had happened and rushed on. He came up to where the clones were standing around looking at the now unmoving Akatsuki. Two had fled the scene completely but the six with the chakra rods were now completely unmoving. Some of the clones had stabbed into them with their blades to ensure they were in fact dead.

"What happened?"

"I don't know sensei. One second they were talking about war and peace and the next they all dropped down. Guren of the **Shōton **(Crystal Release) fled along with the archer as soon as it happened. I have a few clones chasing but they are probably capable enough to survive." Naruto responded, clearly looking troubled.

Kakashi scanned the area as did Sasuke. It was easy to spot the **Gofū Kekkai** (Five –Seal Barrier).

Before Kakashi could ask Sakura spoke up. "I can have it down in five minutes. Do you think something happened inside?"

That was a very good question. Their formidable opponent had weathered quite a bit. Did some hidden enemy decide to strike the Akatsuki while they were distracted by Naruto? Breaking an advanced seal barrier wasn't impossible but sneaking through one? Only something like the Hiraishin would sweep through a barrier and get to the other side without tearing it apart first.

"Be careful but get started," Kakashi ordered.

He looked over to Asuma and Lee. Asuma could still fight but he didn't have much chakra left. Lee was definitely out.

"Asuma, take Lee and a couple of Kage Bunshin and head back to Tsunade."

"But I can still…" One look at Kakashi silenced his protest. The man's word was absolute on the battlefield.

Asuma grumbled but hauled Lee over his shoulder and nodded his head as he went back toward the edge of Amegakure.

Kakashi turned to address the Naruto clone army but they grinned.

"Already on it – boss is gathering natural chakra."

Everything was set to go. By the time Sakura got the barrier down Naruto would be in Sage mode. Whatever was behind the barrier was likely the mastermind behind the Akatsuki. Kakashi made a couple of **Mizu** **Bunshin** (Water Clone) and made ready for whatever they would find.

A tense couple of minutes passed as they waited for their fuinjutsu specialist to use the counter formula for the barrier. However it proved to be unnecessary as the seal vanished on its own. The vast dispersal of the chakra holding it together made air crackle and the tower shuddered.

A figure emerged from the now quivering tower. Kakashi actually blinked and flushed his chakra just in case he had somehow been trapped in a genjutsu. It was unlikely with his Sharingan and near perfect level of chakra control for him to be caught unawares but what he was seeing was even less likely.

The figure was the spitting image of Madara Uchiha. He knew it was not an illusion but there he was. The man's statue oversaw the Valley of the End and the stone carver had captured his likeness perfectly. The only difference was instead of a Sharingan, he held the Rinnegan.

Behind Madara was an Akatsuki with an orange mask and a black version of the white clones they had been fighting, but they seemed inconsequential compared to the leading figure. Madara Uchiha. The man who helped found Konohagakure. The legend who was only surpassed by the Shodai himself.

Kakashi hesitated, but only for an instant. His Mizu Bunshin launched a direct attack while he used **Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu** (Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu). He had no expectation of winning the battle this way but thanks to the constant rain the normally heavily taxing jutsu wouldn't cost much. He had no doubts that it would take all of them to deal with the legendary shinobi.

This troubled him as the nine tailed fox's chakra flared wildly and out of control disrupting Naruto's absorption of natural chakra.

Sakura danced away from the opening and threw one of her specialized kunai. This had acid sealed inside that was particularly nasty to deal with.

Sasuke added to the fray with Chidori Senbon.

Madara laughed as he whirled into action.

*****BREAK*****

Obito watched in awe as Madara was called forth from death. The tremendous chakra required rattled the tower and the intensity put his teeth on edge. But when it was done, when the Rinnegan eyes glazed over in death, Madara stepped forward. Gone was the old man who was barely keeping himself alive. This was Madara in his prime.

He cracked his neck and tested his limbs. "Have the bijū been sealed?"

Obito shook his head. "No Madara-sama, we ran into some difficulties. Konoha killed the five tailed beast and we have been unable to capture the nine tails."

Madara grinned, "Ah, was kyūbi too difficult for you? No matter, that one will be easy to bend."

The Uchiha legend walked over to the corpse of Nagato and calmly removed his eye and inserted it into his own empty socket.

Obito spoke up as Madara took the second eye. "Wouldn't it be better if I took one of the eyes?"

"No."

The younger Uchiha was on uncertain ground. His elder had needed him when he was dying of old age. Now? He was expendable.

"You should know Madara-sama that we are under attack. Outside of the barrier seal is the container for the nine tails as well as his formidable team."

Wry amusement colored Madara's voice. "Formidable team? As I grew old I saw each generation become weaker than the last. I will see how dangerous this 'formidable team' is."

Obito shook his head. "Nagato wielded the Rinnegan and he couldn't defeat them. Everyone who has underestimated them has been torn apart."

Madara snorted. "You saw me when I was weak and decrepit. Come and witness what true power is."

*****BREAK*****

Konan felt the tower tremble and knew it could only mean one thing. Nagato had summoned Madara. She knew deep within her heart that it had cost him his life. She gave a cry of despair and winged away. Everyone she had cared about had been taken from her. Madara and the other Akatsuki lackeys held no bond of friendship with her. If it had not been for Nagato's dream she would never have done the things she had done.

She was not alone in leaving the area. Both Guren and Kidomaru knew that they were outmatched by Konoha's notorious Team Seven. As freshly minted Akatsuki they had not been privy to much information outside of what they had overhead. Both decided that now would be a good time to vacate the area as well.

Nothing was left of the original Akatsuki. Nothing was left at all of the organization save for that man who had authored its manipulation and his two servants.

*****BREAK*****

Kurama hated the village that had imprisoned him and he hated the container he was forced to reside in. More than anything else he despised being a tool for other people. Naruto used him as a tool and what was galling to his pride was that he wasn't even the preferred tool for the brat! His unworthy host had to be dragged into learning how to control his chakra by his instructors. It wasn't that he wanted the boy to use more of his chakra. It was just that he couldn't stand not being considered the most powerful option available.

When the boy did channel his chakra he never made it easy. The shinobi had to fight against his own will each and every time as he channeled his hate and rage at his circumstance into the boy's chakra network. Bit by bit though Naruto was able to resist the corrosive influences on his psyche. Kurama wasn't sure what disgusted him more, that he was still not considered the boy's chief weapon or that he was growing ever more proficient at drawing on his chakra.

But as much as he hated the boy, hated the first Hokage, hated his other hosts and Namikaze those all paled compared to the ultimate violation. Because even when his chakra was forcibly taken from him. Even when he was trapped in a fetid sewer or spiked to a rock his mind was free. It was free to think, to plot, to hate and to reminisce.

One man had stolen that free will; one had broken his mind under those abominable eyes. Madara Uchiha. That was the one entity Kurama hated above all others. And now that foul presence had returned. Kurama saw red and flared his power. He would break free of this useless container and rip the bastard to shreds!

His bulk slammed into the cage holding his hated seal. It held, but he would not give up so easily. He flooded his host with his chakra and crashed into the cage again. He had to get out. He had to break through the seal or he would be enslaved mind, body and soul again!

'IT CAN NOT HAPPEN AGAIN!'

Kurama's rage and terror redoubled as his host fought against the rising tide of demonic chakra.

**AN:** I feel bad – short chapter and very long time between updates. I felt like this was the best place to stop as we are going to get into Madara's fight with Team 7 right away in the next chapter. Let me know what you think.


	68. Chapter 67: Madara Uchiha

**AN: **And here is the beginning of the climatic confrontation! I hope I am able to do it justice.

On a personal note I just got finished attending San Japan last weekend and boy was it a blast! At one of the photo shoots there was about 10 Naruto's, a pair of Kakashi's several Hinata's, a Minato, a Shino, a Temari, Pain, Konan, Lee, Asuma, Tobi, young Obito, an Itachi and Sasuke (complete with partial skeletal Susanoo). Had a blast, if anyone is ever in San Antonio during San Japan I highly recommend all anime lovers to attend!

Also note that Madara's eyes are Sharingan that were evolved into Rinnegan. When he uses a Sharingan based power I refer to it as a Sharingan when he uses a Rinnegan based power I refer to it as a Rinnegan. Still same set of eyes though.

Special thanks to GJMEGA for his awesome beta work!

**Chapter 67:** Madara Uchiha

Madara laughed at the pathetic assault on his person. Using his gunbai he deflected the Chidori Senbon and redirected them toward the kunoichi. Normally one couldn't use a fan in this fashion but a small pulse of Futon chakra allowed him to reflect attacks using the gunbai. His Sharingan picked up the fuinjutsu formula written on the kunai and he had skillfully directed one of the small bits of Raiton from the Chidori Senbon to it.

The Raiton chakra blew the seal and the kunai evaporated as gallons of acid sprayed in all directions.

The legendary Uchiha was actually suitably impressed. It made sense that the shinobi world would make _some_ advances since his era.

'Weak shinobi have to adapt or die.'

The **Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu** (Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu) was a bit more of a threat. It was not something he could redirect with his gunbai. He could move out of the way, use Kawarimi, use **Shinra Tensei** (All Mighty Push), the same jutsu sent back, a mud wall and hundreds of other counters. He decided to go with what he thought would be the most insulting.

Katon was naturally countered by Suiton. Madara used a one handed seal and used the Uchiha staple Katon. **Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu** (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) normally would have done nothing to stop a powerful Suiton jutsu but Madara modified the attack on the fly to make the flames burn far hotter and more powerfully. The flames disintegrated the water dragon and sent steam billowing out in all directions.

Madara saw the non-Uchiha wielder of the Sharingan already bringing out his next jutsu. Madara was mildly impressed with the Raiton jutsu he witnessed. It was condensed in an incredibly small area, it practically thrummed with power.

'That jutsu could pierce nearly anything. This might be interesting after all.'

The shinobi coming at him was fast but it was laughably slower than what was needed to lay a finger on him. When he was two steps away from him he saw chakra flare within the spine of the Raiton user.

The ancient shinobi realized in an instant that his opponent was using Hachimon. A wave of chakra flashed out of him as **Shōmon** (Gate of Pain) was activated. Madara had become well versed in all sorts of jutsu during his long life. His appreciation for his opponent's skills went up a notch as he was able to maintain the powerful Raiton jutsu despite the wave of chakra propelling his strength and speed into greater heights.

Those last two steps were finished in a fraction of a second and the chirping jutsu sailed toward his heart. Madara was forced to twist his shoulder and move away from the direction of the attack in order for the strike to miss him. He had actually been caught by surprise at the move but thanks to the Sharingan and the increased cognitive power it gave him, his surprise only lasted a few hundredths of a second.

'Had I been a lesser shinobi that would have ended the fight. I can see Obito's concern. But it is still nothing compared to my power.'

As Kakashi missed striking with his Raikiri by inches his fuinjutsu suit flared chakra. Madara could see the seals being released in an instant and saw kunai being blasted toward him at point blank range with speed and power that far surpassed what most shinobi were capable of. They were being unsealed and pushed forward from the fuinjutsu seals on the man's arm and shoulder. Despite Madara's speed and skill there was no way to stop a kunai travelling that fast from spanning the distance of inches.

'I will not allow these dogs to claim first blood!'

He had intended to toy with the rats awhile longer before he used this. In an instant chakra flared blue around him as his Susanoo coated and stopped the kunai cold. The sudden expansion of chakra pushed his opponent away from him. His perfect Susanoo made him practically invincible.

'Hnn, he planned it from the start. His angle of attack, the sudden unexpected increase of speed, forcing me to dodge a certain way to line up the propelled kunai sealed in his armor.'

Madara was a genius and he had to respect when another shinobi demonstrated a similar level of intellect and ability. His thoughts were disrupted as more attacks were being sent to him by the other two. The kunoichi had opened a scroll that sent a multitude of kunai towards him, explosive seals fluttering behind them.

The kunai couldn't pierce his Susanoo nor could the explosions. It was a minor drain on his chakra but thanks to the Senju cells he had no worries of running out of chakra.

Chakra surged as a purple Susanoo roared into existence. The young Uchiha had awakened the legendary power of his clan? Again Madara started to see why the Obito brat was so worried. On a single team there seemed to be a fuinjutsu expert, the nine tails jinchūriki, a genius with a gifted Sharingan and a full blooded Uchiha with a Mangekyō Sharingan!

His heart was beating with elation. No one since Hashirama had ever proved to be a challenge to him. His chakra pulsed with the thought of glorious combat. Blue and purple chakra figures raced toward each other and clashed. Both wielded two blades and all four of them were now locked. Madara grinned wickedly as his superior Susanoo bore down on the younger Uchiha.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto's chakra network was rebelling against him. The seething mass of hatred that welled from the Kyūbi meant that any type of ninjutsu, or even sustained movement, was impossible. Gritting his teeth he forced himself to look inwardly and try to talk with the damned baka-fox.

The battlefield disappeared and he was in front of a massive gate. The nine tailed fox was thrashing, clawing and biting at the seal. It wasn't able to break it but the chakra wasn't fully contained.

"Stop it!"

The fox roared. "It will enslave me again, I must kill him! Madara must die!"

"I'm with you on that, now calm down so I can actually fight!"

The fox roared and thrashed again.

'This is ridiculous, he can't seem to see any reason. It's never been like this before. When I've used his chakra I've always had to fight but my will has always won out. Now he's driving himself crazy fighting against me.'

Naruto was troubled. He knew that outside they were somehow facing one of the legendary founders of the Konohagakure. Naruto, thanks to his clones, had read almost every piece of shinobi history that could be found, (along with pretty much everything that was written he could get his hands on. Kakashi always said knowledge was power and time was never an issue when he had Kage Bunshin). This was the man who had nearly defeated the Shodai, the original Kami no Shinobi.

His team would likely need him. He had faith in their abilities but this was on a different level. Looking at the Kyūbi he was faced with some bad options. He could try to pass through the seal and kick the damned fox's ass and cow him into submission, which considering he was the strongest of the bijū didn't seem to be a brilliant idea. He could try to use his knowledge of fuinjutsu to alter the seal. Also not a wonderful idea considering these kinds of seals were immensely complicated and he wouldn't want to ruin his dad's work.

Fighting like this was useless. He had those two options or he could allow the Kyūbi's chakra to fill him and let the fox 'out' so to speak. Naruto was confident he could wrangle control of his chakra back to a stalemate if it turned on his allies. It was a desperate choice but with his other two options so bleak it was the best he had.

Naruto closed his eyes and in the real world Naruto's eyes opened into a fiery red. Five tails sprouted and sickening dark red and black chakra cloaked him head to toe.

"MADARA!"

The Kyūbi roared in absolute rage and charged the Susanoo currently pressing down on the younger Uchiha.

*****BREAK*****

As Sasuke and Madara battled with their monstrous chakra constructs Kakashi looked worriedly toward Naruto. What was going on? He could tell his chakra was surging in a crazed fashion. Suddenly Naruto grew still and his fuinjutsu suit ripped to shreds as demonic chakra coated him completely. This was not like previous times he used the Kyūbi's chakra. The thick chakra felt heavy in the air, smothering everything with a wave of killing intent.

"MADARA!"

And that was not his voice. The transformed Naruto blazed forward and slammed into the foot of Madara's Susanoo. Chunks of blue chakra were torn away as it slashed and ripped into it. It didn't attack with any hint of strategy, just raw bloodlust.

Kakashi released the Hachimon, conserving his energy. His time to strike would come later, but for now he could continue to help grind down the resurrected Uchiha. He knew from talking to Sasuke about his Susanoo that the power was a tremendous drain on one's chakra reserves.

With all of the water still pouring down in the downpour he used another powerful Suiton jutsu. The conservation of chakra was his primary concern; any element could hurt a Susanoo if the attack was powerful enough. A massive tide of water formed as he completed **Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu** (Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique). The water formed a concussive wave that could destroy buildings and create craters. It slammed into Madara's Susanoo and dented it.

'I was hoping for more.'

The Susanoo reformed quickly enough and Kakashi could see no weakening of Madara's chakra levels. Naruto dodged the Susanoo's foot as it tried to kick him away. The beastlike movements had Naruto fighting on all fours more often than on both feet. It was… unsightly to Kakashi's eye.

Sakura had not been idle either. She had placed a number of her kunai around the battlefield ready to form barriers at the right moment. In addition she had peppered the backside of the Susanoo with more explosive tags, acid bombs and super heated steam. It also tore chunks from the Susanoo, but like the damage he and Naruto had done it was being regenerated without any dip in Madara's chakra reserves.

Madara's voice boomed from the Susanoo.

"Do you think you can wear me down? I applaud your efforts, you have done better than I expected, but I am more than just the Madara Uchiha of your legends. I have my old rival's cells in my body. Give up."

Kakashi's thoughts raced. If he really had Senju genetics in his body that meant it would be incredibly difficult to drain him of chakra. Tsunade was a chakra monster and she was the Shodai's granddaughter. And before Yamato's death he had a reputation for being the ANBU operative with the most stamina. On the upside he was glad that for all the Uchiha's genius and clear marital abilities he was also a complete moron. What kind of shinobi gave away valuable information to the enemy?

Naruto was now climbing up the Susanoo. Sasuke's had stumbled and his Susanoo had fallen to one knee. Tearing, slashing and cutting at the chest of the Susanoo Naruto was trying to dig his way into Madara's human form.

"Beast you'll be under my sway soon enough."

Another tail sprang free as the Kyūbi laced chakra continued to pound at the Susanoo. Madara smirked and one of his blades disappeared. The Susanoo hand grabbed the writhing beast and threw it off the building.

Kakashi saw the chakra of Sakura's genjutsu right as it struck Madara. Normally using genjutsu against a Uchiha was a fool's game, but this one might just do the trick.

**Kokuangyo no Jutsu** (Infinite Darkness Technique) was a genjutsu that directly assaulted the eyes. It made no effort to trick its opponent and make them think what was happening was real, it just completely blanked out their vision.

Madara laughed it off. "Tobirama-baka and his Uchiha killer genjutsu. I hadn't thought to taste it again." Sakura fell backwards in shock. Not only did Madara shatter the genjutsu, he had also reflected it right back onto her. She couldn't see at all.

Sasuke was also moving. He used both blades vs. the one and shoved Madara's Susanoo up and back. His construct stood up and the blades attempted to skewer Madara. Madara parried and blocked and reestablished the sword in the hand he had used to throw Naruto. Instead of a match of brute strength Sasuke was attempting to out kenjutsu his opponent.

Kakashi used another **Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu** (Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique) to push one of the arms out of the way allowing Sasuke a chance to drive his sword through the Susanoo. Sadly it wasn't enough; while the Susanoo was pierced Madara was able to easily move away from within his chakra construct.

While Madara was doing so Kakashi darted next to Sakura and pushed his chakra through her network in order to flush out the reversed genjutsu; she nodded in thanks. Madara placed himself back in the center of the Susanoo and began another furious exchange with Sasuke. Sakura considered her inventory desperately. Naruto seemed barely in control, Sasuke must be nearing critical chakra levels and nothing she and sensei were doing was making a lasting dent. And right now she wasn't coming up with any solutions.

*****BREAK*****

'Alright, enough of this.' Naruto thought.

Madara had just thrown him off the damned building. With the chakra cloak the fall hadn't done lasting damage but he was also not accomplishing much. He forcibly attempted to take control and the Kyūbi fought him tooth and nail.

Naruto found himself once again within his own mind before the massive seal and cage that held the nine tailed fox.

"Stop it! Do you want to be enslaved again?"

The Kyūbi roared. "Of course not you ignorant monkey! Stop resisting and let me finish him."

Naruto shook his head. "You may have power but you're terrible at using it. You fight purely out of emotion and instinct, no shinobi has ever fought at their best in those conditions. How about you stop fighting me so we can win?"

The fox roared back at him but Naruto was pleased to see bit of uncertainty in his demonic eyes.

"You know I'm right. Quite interfering and let me work with my team. We are much stronger when we fight together. Our individual skill sets complement each other. You can't synergize with them, all you are doing is blindly attacking."

"You dare presume to lecture me? The greatest of the bijū? You are nothing but an ant before me!"

Naruto laughed. "An ant? All of the bijū are being rounded up by these Akatsuki people. I'm the only chance you have. I'll say it again. Anger is useless in a fight. No one has ever reached a breaking point and suddenly become a far more skilled fighter. Anger makes one more susceptible to genjutsu, the opponent's tricks; it creates situations where you overpower your jutsu at the cost of your stamina and makes you miss openings. Take a backseat, I've sparred against someone with an Sharingan my entire shinobi career, I can do this."

The most powerful of the bijū wanted to roar and rage at its jailer but he wasn't stupid. The seal was too powerful to allow him to break free. His continued defiance would only hamper Naruto's chances at winning. As much as he hated Naruto and Konohagakure, he hated Madara far more.

Never before had his will been taken from him, his very thoughts, to have it happen again would be intolerable.

With ill grace he growled. "GO THEN!"

Naruto smiled as he reoriented to reality. He tugged on the fox's chakra and was pleased to note that it didn't require the normal fight to wrangle it away without losing his focus.

**"****Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" **(Summoning Technique)

Fukasaku and Shima, the two great toad sages popped into existence. Naruto quickly explained they were fighting the supposedly dead Madara Uchiha.

"This is going to be difficult, I'm going to need your help. I know you can't channel nature energy for me but having additional jutsu against this guy is going to be important."

Fukasaku nodded. "Of course young Naruto, we will help you." Shima nodded her assent as well.

Naruto smiled at his allies and pulled on more of the fox's chakra.

"**Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**!" (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique).

Hundreds of nearly naked Naruto clones appeared. Naruto scowled. The baka fox's chakra had burned away almost his entire fuinjutsu suit. He didn't have time to dwell on that sort of embarrassment as his shadow clones began swarming up the building to get at Madara.

He wasn't far behind them. Once he scaled the heights and got to the platform he would bring the hammer down. Both metaphorically and literally with his **Futon: Sora Tonkachi** (Wind Release: Sky Hammer). Then he would pop his last senjutsu clone and enter into sage mode, likely the final time in the fight. The building shuddered and Naruto had to marvel at the architecture. Somehow the building was still standing despite two massive Susanoo chakra constructs battling it out. He wondered if it would still be standing by the end of the fight.

*****BREAK****

Fuyu crept through the home as silent as death itself. Her blades were drawn, ready to kill the woman who had destroyed her family. It took considerable effort to still the sense of elation that threatened her composure. Her hate, her training and her rage had all been building up to this one moment.

Anko Mitarashi lay sleeping in bed.

'She's gone soft. Pregnancy has domesticated her.'

Fuyu had no desire to have a 'fair fight' with Anko. That was for children's stories. Shinobi cared about the mission, dead was dead, whether it was through poison or direct conflict. But she did want Anko to know who killed her. She also wanted the snake summoner to sound the alarm, to create the distraction that would allow the rest of her team to take out their own targets.

Most of all she wanted to look into her eyes and see suffering. And the best way to do that would be to ram her blade through her belly. The attack wasn't likely to kill her but it would be horrifying for the expecting mother. It would also make her weak and easy to kill. No doubt she would struggle and summon one of her massive snakes but Fuyu was prepared. The kinjutsu she had learned would allow her to deal with that and finish Mitarashi off.

She licked her lips in anticipation. This was it. This was where her brother would be avenged. With no further delay she moved lightly next to the sleeping woman and drove her tanto right through her stomach.

*****BREAK*****

The Naruto clones stormed up the building and charged Madara. Their blades cut into the Susanoo with speed and precision. Naruto's base form was faster and stronger than anyone else on his team. The incredible regenerative power of both the Kyūbi and his Uzumaki heritage had allowed him to grow in strength and speed at an immense rate. His muscles would heal from a brutal training regime within hours. What would take Rock Lee a year, he could do in a month.

And Kage Bunshin retained all of that strength and that speed. It was one of the reasons Kage Bunshin were more deadly than Mizu Bunshin. The cost of course was the division of chakra and that even the slightest wound would dissipate them. But for one whom the Kyūbi was actually allowing its chakra to flow without difficulty that simply wasn't an issue.

The clones charged and cut through the blue chakra construct with pure power. The Susanoo was being subjected to hundreds of cuts a second. They swarmed over it slashing and stabbing. Others send Futon powered ninjutsu into various parts of the body.

Madara began feeling the strain on even his immense reserves and chakra regenerative ability. He was the most powerful Uchiha of all time. And then he had taken on his childhood rival's genetic code that made him even more powerful in the chakra regeneration arena. More importantly was that through the combination of Hashirama's genes he had awoken the Rinnegan, which gave a massive boost of chakra all on its own. But even he could not keep up Susanoo's form under such an assault.

It was not like the other members of the team were idle either. Kakashi continued using Suiton jutsu in conjunction with Sasuke's own Susanoo. Sakura continued her non-stop rain of explosions.

Madara had never thought he would see the day when his perfect Susanoo would not be enough to defeat an enemy. He saw Obito and Zetsu ready themselves to enter into the fray and he held up his hand holding them back.

He sensed chakra gather above him, air folded on top of air. In another second or two he knew it would come screaming down atop his ravaged Susanoo.

"Do you think this is the extent of my power? You mock me!"

Madara rose to the top of his Susanoo and activated his Rinnegan based powers. As the **Futon: Sora Tonkachi** (Wind Release: Sky Hammer) screamed down he absorbed it completely. Several clones rose up to strike him, but as quick and as powerful as they were he was better. He swept his gunbai in an arc popping two clones. He ducked a slash and a kick took another. His Sharingan whirled and anticipated each and every one of the clones moves.

The clones were expendable however and his Susanoo was still being ripped to shreds.

Madara decided to thin out the clone swarm with **Katon: Gōka Messhitsu** (Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction). The massive firestorm which erupted from Madara's mouth instantly burned hundreds of clones. Kakashi moved behind a piece of debris and even with his fire repellant fuinjutsu suit he felt the heat.

Sakura activated one of the barrier fuinjutsu that she had scattered on the ground to shield herself. Naruto knew it was coming thanks to the information from his clones and had clung to the wall below the clearing before pulling up to see the devastation.

Sasuke's Susanoo was still on fire and Sasuke released it and fell to the ground panting. Every cell in his body ached from trying to keep up the ultimate technique of the Sharingan. As Madara grinned at the destruction he sensed the chakra in Sasuke's eyes activate.

Amaterasu, the black flame of the Sharingan activated and Madara was the target. With his Sharingan however he had detected the buildup of chakra and had already used **Banshō** **Ten'in** (Universal Pull) to lift some of the scorched rock and intercept the black flames. Using the Rinnegan's power of attraction and repulsion he hurled the burning rock back down at the thoroughly drained Sasuke. The rock disappeared as Kakashi used Kamui.

Madara released his own Susanoo and landed on the ground.

"Amusing but futile. All of your little tricks cannot match my power."

Naruto flipped over onto the top of the building in sage mode. The two toads were resting on his shoulders ready to lend their aid. His blade was drawn and Futon energy was coursing through it. He shifted his grip and charged Madara.

*****BREAK*****

At first Anko thought it was a trick. A skilled scout like Fuyu falling for a genjutsu? They were trained to avoid genjutsu traps and to always be observant of their surroundings. But nonetheless the Kumo kunoichi had thoroughly been convinced by the illusion.

Anko had felt pulse pounding terror when she realized her home was being infiltrated. It was a fear she hadn't known in some time. She knew it was because of the life she carried within her and that she now had something to lose. But despite her condition she had kept her skills sharp. So when she realized someone was in her home she quickly hid and waited. When the form of Fuyu entered she put up a genjutsu in the hopes that it would give her time to flee, but to her shock her would be killer hadn't dispelled it. In fact she seemed completely enraptured by it!

Fuyu stabbed into the empty bedding and never felt the kunai that pierced her temple. Fuyu had entered Anko's home not as a cold blooded shinobi undertaking a vital mission for her village. She had entered with anger, hatred and a lust for revenge. Those emotions had distracted her and led her to believe the illusion because she wanted to believe the illusion.

The pregnant kunoichi let out a breath of relief. She needed to let the village know that the enemy had breached the security of the village. The timing of the attack, coinciding with the assassination of the Fire Daimyo, could not be coincidence. She would need to warn the Hokage.

**AN:** Writing this fight was really difficult. This one and the Itachi fight were one's I wanted to get right but whichever way I went I had doubts. Ultimately I didn't want to leave this unfinished so here's what I got. Let me know what you think!

Oh and if you want to see a cool AMV go to YouTube and search "Madara Indestructible" probably my favorite AMV of all time.


	69. Chapter 68: Madara Uchiha Part II

**Chapter 68**

**AN: **So tough to write the final part of this fan fiction. It has been a huge part of my life over the last year+. Just as a reminder in case you missed it before – this isn't going to follow the final events from the Manga. There is no rabbit goddess pulled out like a rabbit from a hat. Madara is the BBEG.

Special thanks to GJMEGA for his awesome beta work!

**Chapter 68:** Madara Uchiha Part II

Madara's eyes lit up as the blond shinobi's body came charging at him.

'Senjutsu, it certainly gave you power Hashirama, let me see if it makes this boy a challenge.'

Madara drew his own blade and poured a protective layer of chakra over it. The metal wasn't designed to channel chakra like Naruto's, however for one skilled in chakra manipulation anything would do. It wouldn't allow his blade to strike harder or cut through anything it normally wouldn't but it would protect it from being sliced clean through by the Futon energy swirling through Naruto's katana.

The blades met and Madara's eyes widened. The senjutsu chakra made the boy physically stronger than himself! He skidded back and then the kenjutsu dance began in earnest. Their speed was roughly equal with a slight edge going to Naruto; however Madara's Sharingan made up for that.

'He is skilled.' Madara thought with grudging respect as their blades clashed a dozen times in a second.

Madara could see his earlier opponent who wielded his own Susanoo jam three soldier pills into his mouth. Using more than one was a risk and at the sheer amount of chakra the Susanoo required meant that there wasn't much gain from it in Madara's eyes. Dismissing it as irrelevant, Madara put it out of his mind and focused primarily on the senjutsu user.

'Not only is he skilled but he has clearly practiced against his Uchiha teammate or Hatake, he knows how to avoid being read until the final moment, contracting his muscles in a way that would allow a cut, parry or thrust.'

The old Uchiha grudgingly gave credit where it was due. The boy in front of him was highly skilled in kenjutsu and with the benefit of senjutsu chakra he was having difficulty. It became worse when the two toads on his opponent's shoulders began using ninjutsu.

A jet of water had to be dodged which set him up for Naruto's bone jarring two handed cross cut slash. Madara of course blocked, but the difference in strength pushed his blade down painfully. The blade reared up straight toward his neck and he contorted his body backwards and kicked aside the flat of the blade. Not receiving even a moment of reprieve the other toad completed **Futon: Shinkugyoku** (Wind Release Vacuum Bullets).

Madara raised his hand and absorbed the jutsu and then quickly parried another blow. On the dance continued and a smile crept over his face. It had been too long since he had fought a real battle! But as the battle continued he began seeing the level of the skill his foe displayed. Madara was a genius, a prodigy of the Uchiha clan during the Warring States Period. How was this boy who had to have seen less than eighteen summers garnered this much skill? It wasn't just speed and strength but raw skill and knowledge.

The thought gnawed at him; did this boy have more potential than he did? As he dodged and spun away from ninjutsu and kenjutsu strikes he found his answer.

'Kage Bunshin. The boy is clearly adept at using it, if he regularly fights with hundreds of clones he has the memories and experiences of the same battle from a hundred different vantage points. He may be young but he probably has more actual experience than any other shinobi.'

That was the answer. Though it did little for him in the battle he did not like thinking he was anything short of the ultimate pinnacle of shinobi talent. If he had used the Kage Bunshin like his senjutsu wielding foe he would have even more skill.

'Tobirama-teme you vex me in after the worms have fully devoured you.'

Madara was forced back. He could have easily used Susanoo but this kenjutsu battle enticed him. The thin margin between victory and defeat, blade against blade a duel for the ages, the thought of it invigorated him. So much of his existence had been as a hobbled old man defying death until appropriate pawns could be found. This was life!

Madara was coming to the edge of the building though that didn't worry him in the slightest. He had a hundred ways to avoid falling to the streets below.

His Sharingan clearly saw Hatake use **Kirigakure no Jutsu** (Hiding in Mist Technique). Another Suiton jutsu, the man clearly enjoyed the lower chakra requirements of Suiton techniques with the water so omnipresent.

The mist would block his Sharingan but not completely. His visibility was decreased to only about fifteen feet but in the fast and furious kenjutsu duel they rarely made it further than five feet of distance. Madara supposed he could blow the mist away with a Futon jutsu but Naruto didn't give him much room and he was too enthralled with his duel to worry too much about it. He still had impeccable hearing and his own highly attuned chakra senses. If necessary he could call upon his Susanoo in a fraction of a second before any strike from Kakashi could land.

Blade clashed against blade noisily and Kakashi drifted from sight, sound and his ability to sense his chakra.

*****BREAK*****

Like a well oiled machine Team Seven went to work. Naruto pushed Madara to the opposite edge of the roof from his two allies. Kakashi brought up the mist to shield his actions from sight. The shinobi held the record of most successful assassination missions to date; he could move without a sound and hide his chakra presence with ease.

The target wasn't Madara but his allies.

Kakashi struck out at the nearly all black figure with a kunai to the brain. At the same time Sakura sent a wave of her special kunai hurtling toward the masked Akatsuki. As soon as they were in range they exploded sending acid, metal shrapnel and poisonous gas into her target.

Unfortunately neither attacked ended their targets. Obito used his Sharingan to make his body unaffected by the physical world. All of the gas, acid, and shrapnel were swept through him without causing him any harm outside of a sudden increase in heart rate.

Black Zetsu's head exploded from the sheer force of the kunai striking into his skull but his body was somehow able to continue functioning and struck back at Kakashi. Kakashi blocked the surprise attack from the headless Akatsuki; his speed was simply greater which allowed him to easily block the attack. His kunai plunged into where the chest and lungs were supposed to be three times but still the monstrosity kept fighting. Kakashi finally resorted to using his Sharingan to expel the remains of the rubble containing the black flames of Amaterasu that he had previously sucked away earlier in the battle.

This attack struck true and the creature began screaming in agony as the flames consumed it.

*****BREAK*****

'Clever bastards.'

Madara was not pleased that the extension of his will had been snuffed out. Zetsu was never designed to be his equal in combat but he wasn't a slouch. Even so his loss wasn't the primary concern. No, the issue was being tricked by these _children_.

"Enough!" He roared in fury and pulled the Susanoo back around him. The chakra construct pushed back the senjutsu user and the toads. Madara wasn't done venting his fury. He ascended to the top of his Susanoo and unleashed **Shinra Tensei** (All Mighty Push). The shockwave blasted apart the roof entirely, though likely all of his opponents managed to avoid it. The building teetered and began crumbling down around him.

The Susanoo rode the collapsing building down. Dust, ash and debris rained down and his Sharingan instantly picked up where his opponents had landed. The senjutsu user was around the legs of his Susanoo and was already slicing into it with the Futon empowered katana. The gashes around the ankles of the construct were deeper than any normal blade could make thanks in part to the strength of the wielder as well as the piercing edge of the Futon energy.

Kakashi was sticking to the side of one of the other nearby buildings while the Uchiha was on the ground still winded from his earlier use of Susanoo and Amaterasu. The kunoichi was… hovering? Madara watched as she slowly descended down. Storage seals at the bottom of her soles were sending compressed air out in a steady stream allowing her to control her descent.

'Ingenious.' Madara again gave credit. The seals weren't complicated, even a novice fuinjutsu specialist could do them, but for hundreds of years no one had thought to use them in that fashion.

He looked forward to his eventual victory and unearthing all of the interesting new jutsu created since his death. It seems that this generation had something to offer the shinobi world that others had not.

Madara lashed out with the blades of the Susanoo attempting to strike down the troublesome vermin. The blades struck fast but due to their sheer size they moved slower than what was required to cut them down. A simple Kawarimi could get them clear of the attack. Meanwhile his chakra continued to drain steadily as the Futon empowered blade cut huge swathes into the Susanoo.

The others weren't idle either. Hatake lashed out with more Suiton jutsu while the girl manipulated her kunai with chakra strings raking dozens of them across the Susanoo at a high rate of speed. And while they didn't do any significant damage they were still pin pricks of chakra drain that continued to drip out of his body.

The next time the kunoichi used Kawarimi Madara traced her chakra signature and launched himself from the Susanoo directly at her. His speed was greater than hers but even the fastest shinobi could not outrun the speed of thought. The kunai that danced around her on dozens of chakra strings flared to life with energy as she activated **Kekkai: Yon Koatari** (Barrier Art: Four Parts). Madara's strike with his blade slammed into the barrier. His deadly attack wasn't powerful enough to breech the fuinjutsu barrier.

Naruto was on him in an instant bringing his own blade to bear. Madara was still getting over the absurdity that the damned kunoichi had stopped his attack. He dodged and twisted as the katana sliced smoothly from one form to the other. The toads aided him with more elemental ninjutsu striking out at his legs since his **Fūjutsu Kyūin** (Blocking Technique Absorption Seal) power granted from the Rinnegan worked best when he could catch the technique with his hands.

Naruto switched to a one handed style as Madara watch him gather chakra in his left hand. A swirling mass of chakra without any elements stabilized in his palm. Naruto pushed his blade aside with his own after a particularly powerful combination and shoved the Rasengan toward Madara's chest. Madara again contorted to avoid the blow but that meant his blade slipped and Naruto slid his blade across Madara's arm.

Madara twitched in annoyance. He couldn't believe he had actually bled from that attack. The cut was only shallow and it was already closing up so it wouldn't impede him in any way. But he, the pinnacle of shinobi had been blooded. The Uchiha spat in anger and attempted to gather chakra for another **Shinra Tensei** (All Mighty Push) but like Nagato before him Naruto was too fast to allow him to complete it and he was forced to block the two prong attack of the Rasengan and the Futon laced katana.

All the while his Susanoo was still being controlled by him even though he was not in direct contact. The blades continued to strike out at Kakashi, the Uchiha and the kunoichi to little effect. Madara finally found some breathing space and was able to Kawarimi back toward his Susanoo and let the cold chakra embrace him as he once again entered it.

'They want to see power. Let them deal with this!'

He pushed himself away from the Susanoo in the opposite direction of the shinobi squad fighting him to a standstill. Once he had sufficient separation he used **Tengai** **Shinsei** (Heavenly Obstacle Quaking Star). His chakra surged out from the Susanoo and his body toward the heavens to pull down a meteorite. The clouds parted as the gargantuan rock was pulled down to the earth.

Madara smiled as it drew closer. What were these pests going to do? Would they run or try to stop it with their jutsu?

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi signaled his team to retreat on Naruto. He, Sakura and Sasuke instantly made their way to Naruto. Seconds before the massive rock crashed into Amegakure Naruto teleported them all in an orange flash back to Tsunade's camp. Sakura instantly threw out more of her kunai to use a double layered **Kekkai: Yon Koatari** (Barrier Art: Four Parts) to protect the camp.

The earth heaved as the meteorite crashed into it. The land for hundreds of miles would have been utterly devastated if not for the fact that part of the technique pulled the rock closer to the earth slower than gravity would normally pull something down. Even so, huge sections of Amegakure were completely leveled by the thunderous impact. A massive wave of debris and concussive winds slammed into the barrier before dispersing.

Tsunade's jaw dropped as she finished with the young Hyūga. She had done what she could but likely the promising young shinobi would be paralyzed for life.

Kakashi instantly deactivated his Sharingan and turned to Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama please give Sasuke as much chakra as you can. Our enemy will have seen our chakra signatures head this way and will no doubt pursue us. We will intercept him before he arrives and attacks this location. Even so they should begin evacuating the area."

Naruto fell to his knees panting as the senjutsu energy evaporated. He had used a massive amount of chakra today. Not just his own chakra but also bijū chakra and nature chakra. His body was a mass of pain as his overtaxed chakra coils threatened to break down completely. Now more than ever he was grateful for the Uzumaki blood that flowed in his veins.

Tsunade didn't waste time and began sending her chakra into Sasuke, thereby transferring it.

"Kakashi what are you fighting out there?"

"Madara Uchiha resurrected. The amount of chakra he possesses dwarfs even that of Naruto. He is skilled, strong, fast and has a dōjutsu with a variety of powers both from the Rinnegan and the Sharingan. Victory is not assured."

"Madara…" Tsunade whispered. To her credit her chakra never faltered as she revitalized Sasuke.

Kakashi looked to Naruto. "Can you call upon the Kyūbi's chakra again?"

Naruto struggled to his feet. "Yes." He grit his teeth and felt a wave of hate filled chakra fill his coils. Using it he created a hundred clones and sent them running forward to try to slow down Madara's inevitable advance. He cut off the flow of chakra and fell to the ground again.

Tsunade cut off the chakra going toward Sasuke and reached out and did a diagnostic jutsu on Naruto.

"Naruto this isn't good. I can't do to you what I'm doing for Sasuke. Another type of chakra in your coils would just make things worse. If you keep fighting your chakra coils could burn themselves out completely. "

Naruto's face hardened. "If that's what it takes."

Tsunade stared at the boy for a moment before Kakashi gently pushed her toward Sasuke again. She continued her chakra transfer while she started the conversation again.

"Naruto you've done more than enough, I'll take your place with the team and bring down my grandfather's old enemy."

Kakashi interjected. "No. While you are strong Madara is fast and all of us have something that will protect us. Naruto is the fastest among us but without Sage mode or a bijū chakra cloak he can't keep up. I have the Hachimon, Sasuke has his Susanoo and Sakura has her fuinjutsu."

"Bullshit Kakashi. I've been fighting since you were in diapers."

"And you are an S ranked kunoichi who has seen hundreds of battles. But I have seen you fight, unless you have something else up your sleeves you are better off leading the rest of our force away from here."

Despite her anger Tsunade continued the steady flow of chakra into Sasuke, who was starting to feel much better now that his reserves were being replenished. She stared at Kakashi.

"I'm not leading them out of here. I will stay and make sure I can heal you after you win this battle. This isn't up for discussion."

Kakashi relented and turned toward Naruto.

"The clones have engaged him, he doesn't seem to be in a hurry so we have some more time."

This gave Tsunade time to top off Kakashi and Sakura as well. Sakura looked thoughtfully at the seal that was beginning to fade from Tsunade's forehead. No doubt she was looking at how to make a fuinjutsu version at some later date. Tsunade glanced worriedly over at Naruto several times but refrained from saying anything else. Meanwhile the evacuation of the rest of the shinobi was underway. Those who couldn't walk like Neji were carefully carried away.

Kakashi looked at his three students. They had all fulfilled their potential.

"This could be our final battle. I'm not one for speeches so I'll make this quick. Naruto you are ready to be the Hokage. You have the skill, the drive, the power and the knowledge needed to become greater than all of the others. But more importantly you have the will to fight, to endure anything in order to protect your village. I have never been prouder of you."

He turned to Sasuke. "You have already achieved your dream. Regardless of what happens here the Uchiha line will continue and flourish. I told you once long ago I could help your achieve your ambitions and I've made good on that promise. You aren't even twenty yet, don't get complacent. Your team will still need you even after Naruto becomes the Hokage."

And finally he turned to Sakura. "You were a civilian girl with pathetic stamina and chakra reserves. But you have proven you don't need to be a chakra powerhouse to turn the tide of battle. You are changing the entire shinobi world with your fuinjutsu and you are currently the best genjutsu user in Konoha. Naruto will need your mind."

All three of his students looked at him, respect and conviction shining in their eyes. Naruto cleared his throat and looked at his sensei.

"There is no need for speeches sensei. None of us are going to die, believe it."

Kakashi gave him an eye smile. "You know life doesn't work that way Naruto. You can't just make a promise and expect to win the day through sheer drive and determination. This is Madara Uchiha. Life is too short for regrets, we know what we have to do to defeat Madara; spend these last few minutes saying what may be the last words we speak to each other."

Sasuke went first.

"Naruto you are my brother. Sakura you are my sister. What I said at my wedding will be forever true. You are more important to me than anything."

Naruto snorted. "Man, you need a life."

Sasuke grinned. There were few things that made him smile after Itachi destroyed his family but Team Seven was one of them.

Sakura put her hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Thank you for being there for me and for pointing me in the right direction. You aren't going anywhere if I have anything to say about it but if the worst should occur we will make sure the Uchiha clan takes its place once again in Konoha."

Naruto added. "You are my brother in all the ways it matters. You're still a teme but you're our teme."

Without words needing to be said Kakashi, Sasuke and Tsunade gave the couple some time to speak to each other. Tsunade whispered to Kakashi. "Is there a way you can win without Naruto taxing his chakra coils?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Unlikely. I regret I did not have the time to unlock more of the Hachimon. Team Seven will need each of us to bring him down. There is no guarantee of success Tsunade-sama. If we fall you need to bring back word to Konoha to prepare."

"If your team can't do it what hope do you think we have?"

Kakashi made a dismissive sound. "Where there is life there is hope. You, Jiraiya, Danzō, both generations of Ino-Shika-Cho and Rock Lee will have to carry on. We are not the only strength Konoha has. I'm not suggesting that it would be easy or even likely that you would prevail, however with foreknowledge and your observation of his abilities Shikaku may be able to put something together. The point is you need to go if we fall and not foolishly attack."

Tsunade wasn't happy with Kakashi ordering her around, again, but it would be foolish to ignore the man's council. He deserved his S ranked standing and he had trained a team that had surpassed her own legendary one. No one would with any sort of intelligence could doubt that Kakashi was a genius. It galled her that she wouldn't be directly involved in the fight but she had not been there to see Madara.

"Fine Hatake. You've made your point. But if I ever find out that you're doing this because Jiraiya told you to keep me out of the fight I'm going to be your worst nightmare."

Kakashi graced her with an eye smile. If he died here he was content in knowing he had done everything possible to prepare the next generation. He saw Naruto kiss Sakura for a long moment and then watched as Naruto's face hardened.

"He'll be here soon. We should advance to give the rest of our shinobi more time to get away from any more large-scale jutsu." Naruto advised Kakashi.

Kakashi nodded his head and gave his orders. It was time to fight Madara Uchiha.

*****BREAK*****

Kankurō coughed up blood. He was surprised to find himself alive after one of the monsters had plucked a Kami damned rock from the sky. From the sky! Somehow all of his atrocious luck had granted him a sliver of good luck in recompense. He had slammed into a building and the building had collapsed on him but he lay under a supporting pillar that somehow was still standing. It had partially shielded him partially.

He groaned. A meteorite. From the sky.

From. The. Sky.

**AN:** Love it? Hate it? Let me know. I know updates have been sporadic lately so bear with me. I'm thinking there about three maybe four chapters left and then an epilogue. I've changed my mind about a dozen times how I want this fight to go. If you haven't already done so please also check out my other two fics, "Nine Tailed Possession" and "Shinobi no Kami." Right now I'm excited about Shinobi no Kami but I've promised myself to add another chapter to Nine Tailed Possession soon.


	70. Chapter 69: Madara Uchiha Part III

**AN: **I am very sorry for the delay in this chapter. No big life events or anything like that, just lost interest in writing for awhile. As always special thanks to GJMEGA for his amazing beta work!

**Chapter 69:** Madara Uchiha Part III

Madara saw the first of the clones coming. Without the power and speed advantage of senjutsu it was relatively easy for him to deal with them. Relatively easy but not without its dangers, they were still incredibly fast and skilled.

They were also varied in their attacks. Some used kenjutsu while others let loose with Futon jutsu from multiple directions so he simply couldn't absorb all of the attacks. Nonetheless his skill, power and ability made it trivial to beat them.

Madara had time to think about the previous encounter with this team. They were skilled but that alone wasn't the issue. They also worked in tandem impressively. He would call it weakness to rely on teamwork if not for its effectiveness.

'I will have to watch for their tricks. Perhaps it is time to see how effective Hashirama's **Mokuton **(Wood Release) is against these Konoha descendants.'

*****BREAK*****

Naruto's body was wracked with pain. Every time he used any chakra his coils burned in protest. As a trained shinobi he could push away pain but even that had its limits. Mental tricks could help and there had been a few interesting treatises on how to block out pain, though Naruto found them to be more theory driven than actually useful in the field. Mediating into a peaceful state was not a luxury he had when every sense had to be hyper aware in order to survive!

Demonic chakra filled him as Madara approached. There were a number of contingency plans when dealing with a foe like this. Kakashi pulsed his chakra letting his team know which he had chosen.

Naruto created a number of clones and had them fan out around Madara at a considerable distance. He didn't want area effect jutsu taking them out just yet. The pain was rising through his body but by sheer force of will he endured it and raced forward toward the enemy.

On either side of him his team ran. He took point as Kakashi was not using the Hachimon just yet and with the bijū cloak around him he was the fastest. Madara's eyes flashed and his hands moved in a blur.

The earth rumbled and Naruto made ready to spring away from any sort of Doton jutsu. However instead of the earth spring forth spears or an earthen dragon roaring to life something else occurred. Thick tree trunks rose and coiled around the earth. The terrain was not suited for this sort of plant life but it did not deter the Uchiha's jutsu.

The Konoha team easily avoided the sprouting trees as they raced toward Madara. Madara allowed his trees to bloom for a moment before lashing out with a **Shinra Tensei **(All Mighty Push).

The wave of power had been centered on Naruto, who darted to the side in a burst of speed managing to avoid it but taking him off course for a moment or two before he could reorient himself on Madara. As the trees continued to bloom Naruto watched as Madara once more used a Mokuton based jutsu.

Madara used **Mokuton: Kajukai Kōrin** (Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees) to create blooming flowers from the wooden branches. They instantly released pollen that Naruto realized would be bad to inhale. He wasn't too worried about his team with their fuinjutsu suits being able to filter the air. He had no such protection; however he could just hold his breath for now.

Naruto closed in only for Madara to wrap the charka of a Susanoo around him. His team responded instantly to the formation. Kakashi let loose with a **Futon: Daitoppa **(Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) while Sasuke added **Katon: Goenkyu** (Fire Release: Great Blaze Ball). The super heated air all but melted the trees around Madara to ash. The great Susanoo was slammed by a raging holocaust of burning air.

The last time a Susanoo had faced such a viciously powerful combination was when Naruto and Sasuke fought Itachi. In that fight Itachi had the Yata Mirror which protected the Susanoo from the killing heat. Here Madara had no such weapon. The warping heat burned through the Susanoo and Madara had to quickly put out his hands and absorb the destructive Katon chakra. And in that moment Naruto closed the last bit of the distance.

His demon empowered Rasengan roared as he slammed it toward the Uchiha's legs. Madara narrowly avoided its deadly power but was not quite fast enough to avoid the aftereffects of the jutsu. He was rocked back and Naruto raced into close combat with him. Madara blocked a succession of attacks with his arms and felt the chakra emanating from Naruto burn his skin. His superior healing was sufficient to repair any damage, but an all-out brawl in close quarters with a foe using this toxic chakra wasn't a winning proposition with his allies closing in.

Madara constructed another Susanoo in a blink of an eye and Naruto could do little more than tear into it somewhat. His Susanoo was blasted by waves of detonations and Suiton based jutsu as Naruto continued to try to shred Madara's chakra armor. The battle raged on and the lack of air was becoming an issue for Naruto. To counter it he used an overcharged **Futon: Reppusho **(Wind Release: Gale Palm) to clear away the pollen.

Madara's eyes flashed as he let loose with a Katon jutsu. Now the deadly combination of Futon and Katon was turned onto Naruto. The deadly flames could be dangerous even surrounded with the Nine Tail's cloak of malevolent chakra. Sasuke had also seen the formation of both jutsu and had quickly countered with **Suiton: Suirei Kabe **(Water Release: Water Wall) to protect his teammate.

The fires of Madara enhanced by Naruto's own Gale Palm burnt straight through its elemental counter. The fiery rage lost much of its potency and Naruto was able to weather the storm and then take several breaths of pollen free air.

The revived Uchiha laid waste to the landscape with slashes from his Susanoo but all of his targets continued to avoid the massive weapons. Naruto could see the battle descend into an odd stalemate, his opponents Susanoo reformed after every attack but it took some concentration and Madara was unable to focus long enough on any one of them to bring them down. The Susanoo was an incredible defensive ability but its sheer size made it ungainly at striking down single targets.

Naruto could feel his body weakening from the chakra roiling through his battered coils and his preternatural senses told him that Madara was not being drained of chakra at a similar rate. His regenerative capabilities were keeping up. If they were to win this battle something had to change. He signaled his team and they swooped into action.

*****BREAK*****

Sakura saw the signal. It was show time.

Their rapid response team had been formed for numerous reasons and one of the main ones was to put together a force specifically to hunt down Itachi Uchiha. That had meant studying the Sharingan, its weaknesses and strengths. A Sharingan opponent was deeply problematic for someone like Sakura. Her genjutsu was unparalleled in Konoha, however those eyes could see right through them.

Her attempt at using **Kokuangyo no Jutsu** (Infinite Darkness Technique), the one genjutsu she knew that could work on those eyes, had failed; Madara's advanced form had ripped it apart with contempt.

Sakura had learned something interesting about the Sharingan in her testing with Sasuke and Kakashi. A Sharingan did not function when the eye was closed. It had dawned on her that this was why Kakashi wore his headband over his eye. Unlike a normal Uchiha he could not shut off his Sharingan at will, but when his eye was closed the Sharingan ceased to pull chakra from his body. All of this meant is that if you could cause a Sharingan wielder to close their eyes they would become susceptible to genjutsu.

And so Sakura had created a new ninjutsu that was similar to **Raiton: Raigen Raikōchū** (Lightning Release: Lightning Illusion Flash of Light Pillar). Her hand seals were utterly foreign to Madara since it was not the same jutsu, merely something similar without the lightning element; instead it simply summoned forth a blinding lighting that flashed out into the battlefield. Because Sakura was behind her teammates they did not suffer the ill effects of her **Hikari** **Bakuhatsu** (Light Blast).

The searing light did not harm the Sharingan but the intuitive reaction to bright light was to blink, and in that moment the Sharingan was deactivated. This did not bring down the Susanoo however it did allow for a momentary opportunity for Sakura to send a tendril of her own chakra into Madara's and capture him in a genjutsu.

Her touch was light, so very light because it could be shattered in a moment. In that small moment her genjutsu fooled Madara's senses to make him believe his eye had already snapped open. Instead his eye was still firmly shut and seeing that Madara had not detected the foreign chakra intrusion Sakura expanded the illusion to perfectly capture the battlefield as it was.

Sakura knew it wouldn't last for long, Madara was too in tune with his own charka and his other senses but a moment was all that was needed. Kakashi gathered his chakra and opened the gates all the way up to **Keimon** (Gate of Joy). Simultaneously he raced forward with his Raikiri sparking madly.

Sasuke let loose with Amaterasu melting the Susanoo away with black flames. Naruto's blade screamed toward Madara's head. Sakura knew the Uchiha could sense all of this with everything outside of his eyesight however she shifted his perceptions just enough so when he went to block the strike he would miss completely.

The confusion of his chakra sense, hearing and instincts all being at war with his vaunted eyesight revealed the truth of the genjutsu. He shattered it, but Naruto was already too close. Madara threw his head back and intercepted the blade with his arm. The blade tore through Madara's arm slowing only fractionally as it sheered through skin, muscle and bone. That tiny delay however allowed him to avoid decapitation and instead cut a gash through his jaw.

Madara's eyes sparked with rage as he used his other arm to blast Naruto away with **Shinra Tensei **(All Mighty Push). Naruto, too close and too committed to his stroke, could not avoid the wide area blast; he crossed his arms and roared as he pumped more of the fox's chakra into his body.

Kakashi slammed home his Raikiri even as Madara was desperately trying to re-summon the Susanoo. It sliced through it; such was the velocity and potency of the chakra. Madara, already falling backwards, could do little more than to twist his body so that instead of pulping his heart it only slammed through his lung.

Kakashi's other hand drew back to cut down with a kunai and Sakura dared to hope that the fight was over. However Madara's knee blocked the downward stroke and pushed Kakashi away. Madara was suddenly surrounded by wood as he used **Mokuton: Mokuryū no Jutsu** (Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique).

Sasuke's Chidori Senbon slammed into the chakra infused wood with little effect. Naruto crashed into the ground, his bijū cloak flickering weakly and Sakura felt her heart clench inside of her chest.

Kakashi lashed out with a Katon jutsu attempting to burn away the wood, again to no effect. Sasuke let loose with his Susanoo and slashed down onto the wood, finally making a dent. The wood revealed itself to be the shape of a dragon and as it uncoiled it roared and wrapped itself around Sasuke's Susanoo.

Madara laughed as Sakura and her team watched. The bloody hole in his chest was closing, and his arm… it was re-growing! Their implacable enemy was once more wrapped within the safety of his fully armored Susanoo. Kakashi let go of the Hachimon and looked wearily on while Sasuke struggled against the Mokuton powered jutsu.

"You almost killed me you bastards. But I won't fall for that wretched trick a second time!"

Sakura took stock of their options, this wasn't good. She had plenty of explosive tags left, however they weren't going to crack a Susanoo. She had a few other tricks including her highest yield explosive that might do it but that was a last resort. Genjutsu was off the table. Kakashi probably couldn't keep using the Hachimon; he had maybe one use left. Sasuke still had chakra left but he was struggling with this new jutsu Madara had revealed. And Naruto… the agony on her lover's face was awful. She watched as he got to his knees and then collapsed. Instantly she raced to his side ready to deflect any attack Madara may use with her fuinjutsu barriers.

*****BREAK*****

Naruto felt his chakra coils trying to incinerate him from the inside. He didn't need to be a Hyūga to know exactly where all 361 tenketsu points were located within him. Each one was a sharp spike of torturous sensation. His will was strong and in him burned the will of fire, he had to fight, he had to keep his team safe, he had to…

He collapsed in reality and within his mind. Within his mind he found himself in a sewer before a great cage that contained the Kyūbi.

"Boy, you cannot channel any more of my power. You are done."

Naruto shook his head. "Bullshit, I can do this."

"You cannot, another moment of my chakra and your coils will self destruct, killing you. And then you will die and so will your companions."

"And why do you care fox? You'll finally be free won't you?"

The fox's nine tails swished angrily.

"Ignorant fool. When you die so will I. Having my essence scattered is painful beyond anything you humans can sense. Even worse is when I do re-form I will be a savage beast until my mind can fully reform. In that time I will be easy pickings for Madara."

Naruto paused. He could sense no deception.

"You brought me here for a reason. What is it?"

"Break the seal, release me. I will help your companions destroy the Uchiha."

Naruto stared at the bijū. His well trained mind quickly filtering through possible scenarios and what the outcomes would be. He would die; no one survived the extraction of their bijū. Naruto would regret that of course, however he was more concerned about his team.

"If I do this will you give me your word that you will not harm my team?"

The fox snorted. "I will not harm your precious humans unless they come looking for me. I only want to destroy the filth that dominated my mind and enslaved me like a common creature. Beyond that I will not harm your pathetic village as long as they leave me alone."

Naruto again though through the possibilities. "How will you avoid his Sharingan?"

"I'll keep my eyes closed; I will not fall for his tricks again."

Naruto sighed heavily and walked toward the seal. He had faith in his team, but his vast knowledge that came from reading every post battle account he could get his hands on, his own personal experience and his deep understanding of his team's abilities told him that they were losing the fight with Madara. They needed the demon fox's help.

With regret but no uncertainty he approached the cage and ripped the seal off.

*****BREAK*****

Madara had laughed at them after nearing being killed. That was a defensive mechanism; internally he was appalled at how close he had come to death. The genjutsu trickery was completely unexpected. Who would have thought that he, an Uchiha, would have almost been laid low by a genjutsu?

The knitting of his flesh, part of his chakra network and an entire arm had also been taxing on his chakra. He had plenty of reserves left and it was recuperating but he had his limits. Even the Rinnegan could be pushed too far.

He resolved to be more careful as he watched his wooden dragon squeeze the younger Uchiha's Susanoo. Madara watched as Hatake speared the dragon in the head with another one of his deadly Raiton assassination jutsu.

'Powerful enough to pierce a hastily formed Susanoo, even Hashirama's dragon cannot withstand it if he strikes at the right place.'

Madara had not been idle and had used the lull to sweep his blades down toward the prone form of what he considered his most dangerous foe. The kunoichi had used her fuinjutsu again to shield herself and the jinchūriki.

Her barrier seals were strong and they displaced much of the kinetic force of his blows but it was only a matter of time before they shattered. He smiled as his Susanoo continued its work while he added another dimension to the assault by using **Doton: Dosekiryu** (Earth Style: Earth Dragon) to rise up from the ground in an attempt to swallow hole the infuriating fuinjutsu specialist.

Another seal network was hastily slapped onto the earth and his Sharingan instantly read it as a cohesive seal designed to harden the earth around her. His earthen dragon was stymied by the super hardened ground, held together by the fuinjutsu seal's chakra. Madara directed it to arise from the earth from the other side forcing her to defend from another avenue of assault with those barriers.

Madara had to pause in his attack with his Susanoo as her two teammates turned toward him. Again Susanoo clashed with Susanoo and again Madara's proved superior. Hatake attempted to even the odds with a barrage of Suiton jutsu but it was not enough and the younger Uchiha was driven back. It was made worse when Madara grinned and unleashed a flurry of jutsu.

**Mokuton: Mokuryū no Jutsu** (Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique), **Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu** (Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu), and **Doton: Goremu no Jutsu** (Earth Release: Earth Golem Technique) were all used in quick succession. Chakra was burned in waves as he brought forth a towering golem, another chakra eating wooden dragon and a water dragon for good measure. The opposing Susanoo collapsed from all of the various assaults on it instead of burning chakra to retain its form.

His two opponents scattered and split the attention of the massive chakra creations. Madara again laughed, this time in relief. These foes had been powerful beyond his dreams but now the battle was coming to a close. As he thought this a wave of malevolent chakra seeped into the battlefield. One moment the kunoichi was shielding herself from his Doton dragon and the next she and the dragon were pushed away by a wave of demonic chakra. In another instant Madara was shocked to see the Kyūbi emerge in a flash from the senjutsu user's body.

His Sharingan instantly picked up a thousand details. The Kyūbi was wisely keeping his eyes closed. Raw hatred and anger radiated from the creature as it charged directly for him. His Susanoo lashed out at the titanic beast, blade slashing horizontally. The nine tailed fox accepted the blow on one paw and let its weight smash into the Susanoo with explosive force.

Madara felt the Susanoo flicker but poured more of his chakra into it.

"Beast, you will soon be enslaved again!"

The Kyūbi roared and formed a **Bijū dama** (Tailed Beast Ball) faster than Madara had thought possible. He pushed forward from his Susanoo and activated his Rinnegan ability to absorb chakra. The destructive energies that the Kyūbi had brought to bear would have cut a swath of destruction through his Susanoo but now it had all been absorbed. The Kyūbi gave another cry of rage as Madara pushed the beast back and off balance with his Susanoo while rapidly using **Mokuton: Hotei no Jutsu** (Wood Style Cloth Sack Technique).

Four hands, each nearly as large as the gigantic fox rose from the ground and lashed out attempting to capture it. The fox, sensing the danger, attempted to leap away but one hand caught it by two tails and pinned it to the ground.

Madara's grin started to form but wasn't fully made yet when a lance of Raiton energy cut down two fingers of the giant wooden hand allowing the nine tailed fox to escape his grasp.

'You taught your village well Hashirama. They even use teamwork when working with a raging bijū.'

But it wasn't going to be enough.

*****BREAK*****

Kakashi had no time to mourn Naruto's death. The fact that the Kyūbi had been released made it a conscious decision by Naruto. If he had simply died the bijū would have been dispersed. Kakashi would remain wary but it was clear that the chakra beast had made some sort arrangement with Naruto for this set of events to take place.

'Madara's combination of the Rinnegan and the Shodai's techniques is even greater than the greatest of all of the bijū.'

The Kyūbi was by far the most powerful of all of the tailed beasts. The village had truly thought they were doomed when it had appeared out of nowhere. The Sandaime and the Yondaime together could not have beaten it in direct battle without the **Shiki Fūjin** (Dead Demon Consuming Seal). Kakashi watched Sasuke free the Kyūbi from the massive hands that had risen from the earth. As a result of that distraction Sasuke was slammed into the ground by the watery dragon, the fuinjutsu suit seals flared and he saw the residual force bruise ribs and flesh, fortunately it was not a mortal or too debilitating of a wound. Sakura's fuinjutsu seals had once again proven vital.

Kakashi finished the second wooden dragon off only to watch Madara unleash **Shinra Tensei** (All Mighty Push) striking the Kyūbi dead center. The mighty bijū skidded across the ground tearing gashes 20 feet deep as he was forced back a thousand feet from the blast. Kakashi swept around and saw Sakura's wounded form next to Naruto's body. The sudden emergence of the Kyūbi had shredded her own fuinjutsu suit's seals and she too was not unscathed.

'Tsunade needs to get away from here. We are going to lose.'

Kakashi wasn't a pessimist, but he was a realist. All of them were running low on chakra, stamina and their bag of tricks. Their best shot had come when Sakura had managed to snare Madara in her genjutsu and he had survived. He was about to signal Sakura and Sasuke to flee while he and the Kyūbi fought on when he forced himself to check for genjutsu. What his eyes were seeing wasn't possible. Chakra was blooming inside of Naruto!

*****BREAK*****

Naruto had unleashed the Kyūbi. The jail cell and the sewer had been shattered in an instant and he could feel his life force ebb. Deep within his mindscape he sensed his heart stop beating and his lungs stop moving.

His last thoughts were of Sakura and right before his mental eyelids shut never to open again a yellow flash streaked into view.

"Father?" He asked in a confused fashion. Thoughts swam across his mind in haze. Was he in the afterlife? Sure enough his mother was there too! But why did he still feel so weak?

The man, Minato Namikaze, smiled at his son. "Naruto, there isn't much time. I am the last vestige of chakra that I had imbued into you when I sealed the Kyūbi. I was here as a failsafe to prevent the release of the Kyūbi, however I sensed what was happening and allowed you to free it."

A woman appeared next to him, her hair a deep shade of red.

"And some of my chakra is within you too, when it came time for you to fully master the demon fox inside of you. That purpose is gone but there is something else we can give you."

Naruto looked at his parents and wanted to say a hundred things at the same time. He opened his mouth to speak but Minato raised his hand.

"There isn't any time. Our chakra will be used to restart your heart and chakra network. You will still be on the brink of death however."

Kushina added, "You're an Uzumaki so you can survive even the expulsion of your bijū."

Naruto shook his head, "I need to do more than survive. I need to fight; it's Madara Uchiha out there fighting my team!"

Minato nodded sadly. "You are saved from death but your coils are still in no shape to use chakra." Naruto clenched his jaw in frustration but his father continued. "You still have senjutsu available to you."

"Then there isn't any time to waste."

Kushina and Minato both smiled proudly. "We are proud of you."

Naruto nodded firmly and opened his eyes back within the real world. Every part of his body hurt, his thoughts were still fuzzy, likely due to the lack of blood to his brain, but his heart was beating again. He took a deep breath, thankful that there was no more pollen in the air thanks to the destructive jutsu, bijū rampage and ocular powers that had been unleashed since Madara first used that ability.

He turned to Sakura who quivered for a moment, he knew that her emotions were roiling right now but as Kakashi had taught them she had forced them aside since they were in the middle of battle.

He closed his eyes again and let nature chakra flow into him. To his amazement it happened so much easier and swifter than it had previously.

'Ah, that bastard fox, he must have made it twice as difficult to do this properly!'

It took only a few moments for his body to jump into sage mode and when he opened his eyes again they were toad-like. His hands swiftly formed the necessary seals to summon Shima and Fukasaku.

Fukasaku instantly spotted the difference. "You have mastered sage mode, how… ah." It was quite hard to miss a massive bijū roaring and raging.

"No time for explanations. I'm running almost purely on natural energy right now and don't know how long I have."

Both Pa and Ma sensed the truth of his words and readied themselves for what they hoped would be the final battle with Madara.

*****BREAK*****

Madara was expending chakra at an unsustainable rate. The Kyūbi had learned from its previous encounter with him and would not open his eyes. The bijū had incredible senses, which meant that regardless of its lack of sight it still posed a difficult problem.

He had tried to use Mokuton to tame the beast but each time the Kyūbi was aided by his Konoha opponents. It was made all the worse when the jinchūriki somehow rose back up from the dead to continue the fight, this time displaying a mastery of senjutsu that rivaled Hashirama's.

Madara lashed out with jutsu after jutsu as he attempted to strike down one of his foes but each of them proved adept at defense. Going after the kunoichi sent him into fuinjutsu barriers he could have breached in time but not while being constantly attacked.

Going after the younger Uchiha was difficult as well as his foe's Sharingan anticipated all attacks and had his Susanoo to fall back on, though at this point chakra depletion meant he couldn't do it much longer.

Hatake proved every bit as skillful as his reputation implied. Madara was stymied in every direction. Jutsu flashed through the air, the two toads lending their powerful ninjutsu to the mix. It was too much all at once, he could instantly decipher every angle of attack and yet the sheer power of the bijū combined with the flexibility and teamwork of his foes was too much.

"No! I will not be defeated like this."

Madara had his Susanoo up but in a flash a hole was created by Kakashi's ocular jutsu. The black fires of Amaterasu raged around the outside of the Susanoo while Naruto slashed inward with his blade. Madara parried the blow and attempted to recreate the Susanoo but his own now depleted chakra reserves made it sluggish.

Naruto bared his teeth and slammed a kunai into his shoulder. Normally he wouldn't worry about such a minor issue; there was nothing vital in the shoulder after all. This kunai, however, was riddled with fuinjutsu seals and when he saw Naruto push away he knew what was about to happen.

The explosion was fantastical. It ripped into him with the yield of a thousand explosive seals. It completely ripped his arm free with the explosive concussive force. He crashed into the ground barely alive.

Madara would only need seconds to heal the damage and continue fighting; the arm would take longer but not too long. However he was facing the legendary Team Seven. You never stopped fighting until you were sure the enemy was down. Madara felt earthen spikes enter his body from a Doton jutsu right as a futon empowered katana sliced through his neck.

*****BREAK*****

Team Seven was wary, they had defeated Madara and that was a huge relief, however the Kyūbi was alive and well and none knew how it would react. They watched as the massive chakra beast smashed Madara Uchiha's skull and erased from existence the Rinnegan.

"Do not attempt to chain me again and I will leave your puny village alone."

And with that the tailed beast left the ruined battlefield. Naruto smiled, they had done it. A wave of weakness fell over him as his chakra coils faltered, natural chakra fled his body and he collapsed to the ground.

Sakura was next to him an instant. She felt for a pulse and found none.

"No… come back Naruto you came back once you can do it again!"

Obito Uchiha appeared and the three remaining members of Team Seven turned as one, ready to fight.

The figure in the mask laughed.

"Kakashi… always you Kakashi. You always got in the way, always ruined everything. My dreams, be they small or large, you thwart them! I hate you but now I see that this world cannot be saved. Madara was arrogant but he was the only one who had the power to bring the world to heel and create the perfect paradise that I longed for."

Team Seven typically didn't wait for their opponents to speak this long, but all of them were exhausted and if the enemy chose to give them information who were they to interrupt?

"My dream is lost. Damn you Kakashi, damn you!"

The man drew a kunai. Before Team Seven could strike he slammed the kunai home into his own skull, killing himself instantly.

Kakashi pried off the mask and was surprised to see the face of Obito.

'Unexpected, but the man proved to be a traitor; he did us a favor by killing himself.'

Kakashi looked up and saw Tsunade rushing toward them. She would try to save Naruto but his Sharingan said it was too late. He didn't know how Naruto had survived the first time but he doubted it would happen again.

'You would have been the greatest and strongest Hokage of all time Naruto.'

*****BREAK*****

Medical jutsu was a powerful thing but it could not do everything. It could not bring back the dead. If it could Dan would still be alive. Her heart went out to the team before her. They had fought so hard but even their team could not completely survive without a loss.

Tsunade would not let this tragedy happen. She now knew more jutsu than she did before. Naruto's body had not been crushed to a pulp like Shizune's had been. He could still be saved; there was a jutsu that could bring him back.

**Kishō Tensei** (One's Own Life Reincarnation), developed by her one time nemesis Chiyo of Sunagakure. Tsunade had spent much of the second shinobi war in countering all of Chiyo's poisons. The thought that it was solely due to Tsunade's skill in medical ninjutsu that let Konoha counter all of Chiyo's poisons however, that was pure propaganda. It was true that Tsunade could counteract any poison with her skill but she couldn't be on the battlefield to fix things personally. It had been a combination effort of Jiraiya and his fledgling spy network that had planted a mole in Suna.

That was how they were so perfectly countered her poisons and that was how years later Tsunade learned of the power of **Kishō Tensei** (One's Own Life Reincarnation).

"I have a way to save him Kakashi. A kinjutsu developed by Suna. I will die but my life force will heal Naruto and bring him back."

Needless to say Team Seven was stunned, and grateful. She was thanked profusely by Sakura but the other two were just as moved.

"Just tell Jiraiya that I love him and that I regret wasting so much time."

Her thoughts were on Jiraiya, her teammate and her love. How she wished she could be with him one more time. She gathered her chakra and focused herself. She completed the hand seals and began to speak out her last words, the name of the jutsu when everything went dark.

Sakura and Sasuke looked at Kakashi in stunned amazement. Why had he knocked out Tsunade? Did Madara somehow plant a genjutsu trigger? Their weary body's protested the idea of continuing the fight as they readied themselves.

Kakashi put up his hand and used the appropriate identification code. "Maa, don't be mad. I copied her jutsu."

Sasuke instantly processed the information. Kakashi was going to use **Kishō Tensei** (One's Own Life Reincarnation).

"Why?"

Kakashi gave him an eye smile. "Because I have passed on all that I know to you. Tsunade has not passed on all of her medical techniques. Her apprentice was killed by the Tsuchikage, if one of us is to die it should be me."

Sakura shook her head. "Sensei, no. You are a better fighter; we are still at war with Kumogakure. And we will have to deal with Suna's treachery. We need you!"

"No you don't. I have full faith in you, assuming no more long dead legends spring to life of course. Tsunade's medical techniques need to be passed on. Who knows, perhaps the Senju clan can be reborn. Her ability to appear young is not just appearance; while the jutsu is active she _is_ young."

Sakura and Sasuke didn't know what to say. This was the man who had shaped them, turned them into the people they were today. He had molded them into the best shinobi they could possibly be.

For once their masks of perfect shinobi control began to falter. Kakashi held up his hand, "I have always wanted to serve my village and I am content with this. Keep the village strong and make sure Naruto becomes the greatest Hokage of all time. Be his strong right and left hands. Make his dreams a reality."

There was nothing more to be said. Kakashi flashed through the hand seals and the jutsu activated. He slowly fell to the ground, dead. The genius sensei of Konoha was no more.

**AN:** This was the hardest chapter for me to write. The fight on one hand seems endless and on the other seemed to end too abruptly. Nonetheless I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for your patience!


	71. Chapter 70: Future Plans

**AN: **This story is nearing the end. I really want to thank everyone who has read it. This story has over 2,000 reviews and over a million hits! That being said I invite you to read the rest of my stories as well. Right now I've been focusing on my Harry Potter story; however I do plan on doing more with Shinobi no Kami too. If you liked this story please check out the rest of my work.

As always special thanks to my amazing beta GJMEGA!

**Chapter 70: **Future Plans

Jiraiya winced slightly as the medical nin healed his scorched shoulder. He had not expected pain because his mind was elsewhere; now that he was aware that the healing wasn't going to be completely painless he focused his features. It wouldn't do to show weakness.

He had been thinking of the assassination attempts. It could have gone much worse. Anko had been the first target, which really was rather foolish of Kumogakure. She dealt with the assassin and then alerted him by activating a fuinjutsu seal. The alert went out and he and his ANBU were ready when the attack struck.

The shinobi they fought were strong. They were at least A rank but also had some nasty kinjutsu that packed quite a punch. Jiraiya had been injured, as had Yugao. Her left hand was almost unrecognizable and without Tsunade on hand to handle the recovery it was likely the nerve damage would be too great for it to be salvaged. Fortunately she was a kenjutsu expert not a ninjutsu specialist so her career as a kunoichi could still continue.

The other three ANBU guards who had been with him were not so lucky and they had perished. The Hokage hated thinking about it this way, but ultimately, taking down a dozen kinjutsu assassins was more than a fair trade.

Other targets had also been hit. They were after Shikaku and he had survived, sadly his wife had not. Shikamaru had taken it particularly hard and all of the Nara clan was in mourning. Danzō had also been attacked but the old bastard didn't have a single scratch on him. A couple of his ROOT agents had fallen to an explosive Raiton attack, but those were the only casualties.

News from Amegakure was mixed. They had lost several shinobi, among them Kakashi. Losing the genius sensei of Team Seven was a devastating blow. The fact that he went out fighting the legendary Madara Uchiha was mind boggling.

'Your name will live on. You've done more than me and Tsunade combined to help Konoha.'

The treachery of Suna was also troubling. He had already received a missive from the Kazekage indicating he had known nothing of the betrayal and asking for a meeting to explain. He had put that issue to the side for now.

The Akatsuki had been eradicated. Konoha no longer had the nine tailed beast but they now had the functionally brain dead comatose jinchūriki of the Rokubi, Nanabi and the Hachibi; But what to do with them? He had the fuinjutsu expertise needed to seal them into hosts if that was the path he wanted to take. He could return the Rokubi to Kirigakure and the Nanabi to Takigakure, but should he? The power of three jinchūriki could be what was needed to maintain the peace and stop the endless fighting. He certainly wouldn't be returning the Hachibi to Kumo.

With all this going on he couldn't forget that Hi no Kuni was in chaos. Kumo had wrecked an incredible amount of carnage on the capital and the country was functionally leaderless. Danzo was pushing for him to take over as the Daimyo and the Hokage and usher in a new era where there would be no conflicting rule between a nation and its hidden village.

'Kami what a mess. It would solve a lot of problems and cause many more. The other Daimyo would immediately feel threatened and we might have every single country of the Elemental Nations calling out for blood. Worst of all would be the amount of paperwork the Kage/Daimyo would have to face.'

He wished Kakashi were still alive. He would have good advice on these matters. Shikaku was his other advisor but he was loathe to call on him when he had just lost his spouse. Thoughts of that turned to Tsunade. How close had he been to losing her? Too close. She was going to be returning soon along with his godson and the rest of Team Seven.

Jiraiya decided not to make any firm decisions. It had always been his intention to make Naruto the next Hokage so he should be in on these critical nation shaping choices.

*****BREAK*****

Tezuka Yotsuki, the Godaime Raikage was afraid. The attack on the capital of Hi no Kuni had been a success, but the assault on Konoha had been an abject failure. None of the targets had been killed and the leadership of his hated enemy was as strong as ever.

And the cost… the cost had been high. The entirety of the Kinkaku Force had been destroyed. Hundreds of lesser shinobi had been sacrificed to fuel their kinjutsu and it had all been for naught.

The one bright spot was news of the death of Hatake. He had been a thorn in Kumo's side for some time. Sadly on the balance that was not sufficient. Kumo had been gutted of its most skilled shinobi in the course of the war. There was no one who could stand up to the monsters of Konohagakure. Namikaze, Uchiha, Haruno, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Shimura. Every name listed had the power to devastate entire teams of Kumo nin.

The one saving grace was that he believed he had time. With Hi no Kuni in disarray it was unlikely they would begin a fresh assault. He hoped. If they did choose to attack he would be left with little else but chūnin and genin to fight with.

'Damn the Mizukage, can she not see the danger we are all in? Konoha must be stopped or we will all be under their yoke!'

Kirigakure had been devastated by their blood purges. In the past several years however they were virtually untouched by the war all around them. Every other village had suffered atrocious casualties in one way or another. Her fresh troops could be enough. If only she could see the danger!

The knot of panic continued to grow. If he couldn't convince her to ally with him Kumo was doomed. Be it now or a year from now there simply wasn't time to train shinobi to become jōnin, let alone the S ranked titans that Konoha had.

And so with little hope he wrote another letter to the Mizukage promising her everything he could think of. Full war spoils of Konoha. Any biju captured. Carte blanche for her shinobi to be within Kaminari no Kuni. Anything and everything. Whatever it took.

** ***BREAK*****

Naruto was still in a daze. Sakura and Sasuke had told him what happened. Told him how Tsunade was going to sacrifice herself for him and how Kakashi did it instead. He wanted to rage at her and his fallen sensei. He wanted to be Hokage; that meant he was the one who died to protect the village, not the other way around!

And yet how could he be upset with someone who was willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice for him? How could he be upset with them for giving Sakura hope? It was a maddening tumultuous storm of emotions raging through him.

As bad as he had it Tsunade was worse. She was morose and guilt ridden. It was her jutsu that Kakashi had copied that had gotten him killed. It was her choice to leave the village and only train one apprentice in the life giving medical jutsu that could help so many people. Naruto shook his head at the weight of guilt that was so clearly on her shoulders.

They were nearing Konoha now where they would report to Jiraiya. Once more Naruto felt guilty for being relieved that he didn't have to report that Tsunade had lost his life for him. But it had been at the cost of Kakashi. The man who had molded him into the shinobi he was today. The man who had taught him that the village came first and that foolish pride had no place on his team. The man who had given him the skills and power to fulfill his dream.

Sakura moved closer to him. "Naruto, don't blame yourself. You did everything you could."

Naruto looked at his love. "I know Sakura-chan. I know. Kakashi wouldn't want us to think about the past outside of the lessons we can learn from it. I'm sick of this war and all the fighting. I want people to stop dying already."

"Kumo is the last threat Naruto; once they are dealt with we can have peace."

Naruto thought about that. It sounded nice but he wasn't sure it was true. The shinobi world seemed wedded to warfare. That didn't mean he wouldn't try. He knew he had the strength to make peace a reality, at least in the short term. He no longer had the Kyūbi in his gut but his chakra reserves were still massive. More importantly he still retained his skill and knowledge. He could now enter Sage Mode in an instant and he could continually gather natural chakra while he fought.

The endless reserves he used to summon hundreds and hundreds of Kage Bunshin along with the mightiest of the toads was no longer there however, although he could still easily summon a hundred Kage Bunshin if needed. Kakashi had taught him to always do an honest self assessment of his skills and he knew he was either the strongest or second strongest shinobi Konohagakure had.

His brother in all but blood may be stronger now, maybe. Susanoo was the ultimate power of the Sharingan and it was a pain to deal with. If he ever had to fight him he would give himself the slight edge in terms of endurance. He knew he was better with the blade even with the Sharingan giving Sasuke its predictive power. He had matched Madara in kenjutsu and Madara was faster and stronger than Sasuke.

'It doesn't matter who is the strongest really. We are brothers. And with Madara dead I don't see another opponent able to match us.'

Naruto thought back to the power of the Rinnegan. Had they been more careful with destroying Madara at the end they might have recovered those eyes. It was risky since they didn't have enough information to know the full extent of its power; they had obliterated Madara's head as well as his entire body after he had decapitated the ancient Uchiha.

His thoughts drifted back to Kakashi as he tried to etch every lesson he had been taught by the shinobi. Naruto had many memories, more so than any person alive thanks to the frequent use of the Kage Bunshin. Of all those memories he would make sure to never lose the ones that had his sensei in them.

*****BREAK*****

Kankurō forced his broken body to move. It was going to be a long journey back to Suna. When he got there he was done. He was going to tell off Baki and Temari and get the hell away from Sunagakure. He had fought with Konoha and against them. You couldn't stop them.

'Why did you do it? Why did you doom our village you idiots!' The puppeteer thought angrily.

Slowly but surely he made his journey to Suna. He only hoped that Konoha's vengeance hadn't already turned it into a smoking ruin by the time he got there.

*****BREAK*****

Tsunade and Jiraiya were finally alone after the debriefing.

"It wasn't your fault Tsunade-hime."

Tsunade angrily shook her head. "It _was_ my fault! I only trained Shizune and after she died I never bothered to get another apprentice or write down my jutsu. He died because I failed to do my duty."

Jiraiya knew she was right but what purpose did that serve?

"Let's pretend you're right. What do you want to do now?"

Tsunade's eyes burned with determination. "I'll do what I should have done before. I will take on multiple apprentices. I will put to scroll the techniques I have created. Kakashi's death won't have been in vain."

Jiraiya nodded. "Then Kakashi's sacrifice wasn't wasted. He would be happy knowing that the village is stronger because of something he did. Regardless of the circumstances that led up to it all we can do now is honor his memory and push forward."

Tsunade squeezed her eyes shut as tears rolled down her cheeks. Her Jiraiya was right. Kakashi would want the village to be strong and she would help it be strong. She opened her eyes and saw the concern and affection on Jiraiya's face.

She knew she could make Konoha strong by passing on her legacy to her apprentices. She would do that, certainly. There was also another way she could keep Konoha strong. Tsunade was the last of the Senju. Normally she would be long past childbearing age but she was the greatest medical nin alive. Regeneration could come in many forms and she decided in that moment that she and Jiraiya would carry on her grandfather's legacy.

She kissed him and whispered her plans into his ear. And if it was a boy, she would name him Kakashi.

*****BREAK*****

Mei Terumi had shared the scroll with her advisors. There were multiple opinions about the Raikage's offer. Some thought it was the perfect opportunity, praising her for waiting until the right moment to ally with Kumo and reap the largest rewards.

'Fawning sycophants.' She thought with disgust.

Others were more wary and thought the terms were too generous to ever be agreed to. They debated it while Mei stayed silent and kept her own council. Finally she cleared the room.

'This is my decision and I had better make the right one.'

Less than two decades ago Kumo and Kiri were involved in a bitter war. Now the Raikage was figuratively on his knees begging for an alliance. It was funny how quick the tides of war can change opinions.

She didn't trust Jiraiya. And yet Konoha as a whole had stood by its allies. They had stood up for Takigakure when Iwa had threatened it and it had nearly cost them their village. They had helped Suna deal with Iwa. At every step Konoha had honored its alliances. Now almost every minor village was allied with them. If they won the war with Kumo they would stand at the cusp of being the center of a hegemony that could last for generations.

It wasn't a certainty though, since Hi no Kuni was currently leaderless after the brutal assassination of its Daimyo. Konoha had suffered a number of casualties in the war with Iwa and Kumo. If she went all in and joined forces they could win but that also wasn't certain. The Sannin were no pushovers and the next generation of Konoha had proven equally if not more powerful.

'Every path I take, even doing nothing, has its risks.'

Ultimately she was a woman of action. She would not sit on the sidelines. She recalled her councilors and told them her decision.

Kirigakure would once more ride the winds of war and she would lead them personally.

The advisors who had been so eager to side with Kumo were grinning until she let them know who they would be fighting against. Kiri would not be fighting Konohagakure. No, her village would be allying itself fully with the Village Hidden in the Leaves!

**AN: **This was a short entry but I thought this was a natural end to the chapter. I really hope you check out my Harry Potter work too, it could use some love!


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